Master Circular No. - 64 - Suspension 

At present provisions/instructions regarding suspension of railway employees are contained in Part II of the Railway Servants (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1968 and in a number of letters issued by Railway Board from time to time. It has bean decided to consolidate, important amongst them in one single Master Circular, for the purpose of facility and convenience, as enclosed herewith.

While referring to this Circular, the original letter referred to herein should be read for a proper appreciation and in casa of doubt, the original circular should be relied upon as authority.

Since effort has been to include only important instructions on suspension in this Master Circular, a number of circulars have not been taken into consideration while preparing this Master Circular.

Instructions contained in circulars not included herein, should not be deemed to have been superseded simply because of their non-inclusion.

SUSPENSION

Suspension is an executive action whereby a Railway servant is temporarily kept out of duty, pending final action against him for criminal offences or acts of indiscipline, misconduct etc. Suspension, pending departmental enquiry, is a safeguard against the Government servant interfering with and hampering the preliminary investigation and, tampering with material evidence - oral and documentary.

It is not a penalty under Railway Servants (Discipline and Appeal) Rules.

I (A) Circumstances under which a railway servant may be placed under suspension -

In terms of Rule 5 (1) of Railway Servants (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, a railway servant may be placed under suspension in the following circumstances: -

a.Where a disciplinary proceeding against him is contemplated or is pending; or

b.Where, in the opinion of the authority competent to place a railway servant under suspension, he has engaged himself in activities prejudicial to the interest of the security of the state; or

c.Where a case against him in respect of any criminal offence, is under investigation, inquiry or trial.

(B) Guiding principles for placing a railway servant under suspension -

Public interest should be the guiding factor in deciding to place a railway servant under suspension and the disciplinary authority should have the discretion to decide this, taking all factors into account. However, in the following circumstances, a disciplinary authority may consider it appropriate to place a railway servant under suspension. (These are only intended for guidance and should not be taken as mandatory).

i.Cases where continuance in office of the railway servant will prejudice the investigation, trial or any enquiry (e.g. apprehended, tampering with witnesses/documents);

ii.Where the continuance in office is likely to seriously subvert discipline in the office in which the railway servant is working;

iii.Where the continuance in office of the railway servant will be against the wider public interest (other than those covered by (i) & (ii), e.g. there is a public scandal and it is necessary to place the Government servant under suspension to demonstrate the policy of Government to deal strictly with officers involved in such scandals, particularly corruption).

iv.Where allegations have been made against the railway servant and the preliminary enquiry has revealed that a case exists, prima facie, which would justify initiation of criminal departmental proceedings against him and where such proceedings are likely to end in his conviction and/or dismissal, removal or compulsory retirement from service.

Note: (a) In the first three circumstances enumerated above, the disciplinary authority may exercise his discretion to place a railway servant under suspension even when the case is under investigation and before a prima facie case has been established;

(b) Certain types of misdemeanour where suspension may be desirable in the four circumstances mentioned above are indicated below:

i.Any offence or conduct involving moral turpitude.

ii.Corruption, embezzlement or misappropriation of Government money, possession of disproportionate assets, misuse of official powers for personal gain;

iii.Serious negligence and dereliction of duty resulting in considerable loss to the Government.

iv.Desertion of duty.

v.Refusal or deliberate failure to carry out written orders of superior officers.

In respect of the types of misdemeanour mentioned in items (iii) (iv) & (v) above, discretion has to be exercised with care.

(Board's Confidential letter No. E(D&A)64 RG 6-35 dated 10.12.1964)

(C) Deemed Suspension -

In terms of Rule 5 (2) of Railway Servants (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, a Railway servant shall be deemed to have been placed under suspension by an order of the Competent authority in the following cases: -

a.With effect from the date of his detention if he is detained in custody whether on a criminal charge or otherwise, for a period exceeding - 48 hours.

b.With effect from the date of his conviction, if in the event of a conviction for an offence, he is sentenced to a term of imprisonment exceeding 48 hours and is not forthwith dismissed or removed or compulsorily retired consequent to such conviction.

Note: The period of forty-eight hours referred to in clause (b) above, shall be computed from the commencement of the imprisonment after the conviction and for this purpose, intermittent periods of imprisonment, if any, shall be taken into account.

(2) It shall be the duty of the Government servant who may be arrested for any reason, irrespective of the period of detention, to intimate the fact of his arrest and the circumstances connected therewith to his official superiors promptly even though he might have subsequently been released on bail. On receipt of the information from the person concerned or from any other source, the departmental authorities should decide whether the facts and circumstances leading to the arrest of the person call for his suspension.

Failure on the part of the railway servant to so inform his official superiors will be regarded as suppression of material information and will render him liable to disciplinary action on this ground alone apart from the action that may be called for on the outcome of the police case against him.

(Board's letters No. E(D&A)59 RG 6-37 dated 5.1.1960 and 5.1.1961).

(3) A Railway servant will be deemed to have been placed under suspension in the following circumstances also :

i.Where a penalty of dismissal, removal or compulsory retirement from service imposed upon a railway servant under suspension, is set aside in appeal or on revision under these rules and the case is remitted for further inquiry or action or with any other directions, the order of his suspension shall be deemed to have continued in force on and from the date of the original order of dismissal, removal or compulsory retirement and shall remain in force until further orders.

(Rule 5 (3) of RS (D&A) Rules).

ii.Where a penalty of dismissal, removal or compulsory retirement from service imposed upon a railway servant, is set aside or declared or rendered void in consequence of or by a decision of a court of law and the disciplinary authority on consideration of the circumstances of the case, decides to hold a further inquiry against him on the allegations on which the penalty of dismissal, removal or compulsory retirement, was originally imposed, the railway servant shall be deemed to have been placed under suspension by the competent authority from the date of the original order of dismissal, removal or compulsory retirement and shall continue to remain under suspension until further orders.

Provided that no such further inquiry shall be ordered unless it is intended to meet a situation where the court has passed an order purely on technical grounds without going into the merits of the case.

(Rule 5 (4) of RS (D&A) Rules)

(4) The terms 'inquiry' in sub-para 3 (ii) above has a wider connotation and refers to any further action under the D&A Rules.

(Board's letter No. E(D&A)61 RG 6-43 dated 28.4.1965)

(D) Instructions regarding placing a Railway servant under suspension in specified circumstances.

1.If a case has bean registered by the police against the Railway servant under Section 304-B of the IPC i.e. in a case of 'dowry death', he shall be placed under suspension in the following circumstances by the competent authority invoking the provisions of sub-rule (1) & (2) of Rule 5 of the Railway Servants (Discipline & Appeal) Rules:-

i.If the railway servant is arrested in connection with the registration of the police case, he shall be placed under suspension immediately, irrespective of the period of his detention.

ii.If he is not arrested, he shall be placed under suspension immediately on submission of a police report under sub-section (2) of Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 to the Magistrate, if the reports, prima facie, indicates that the offence has been committed by the Government servant.

(Board's Confidential letter No. E(D&A)87 RG 6-75 dated 22.7.1987).

2.Suspension may be resorted to in very serious cases of corruption/ moral turpitude or in cases where direct and specific evidence to implicate the railway servant in corruption cases, is already available. Suspension in such cases will tone up the integrity in the administration, by acting as a deterrent to corrupt employees indulging in such practices. One such instance where there is direct evidence of corruption is where a railway servant is caught red handed while accepting bribe in a trap arranged by a police organisation. After a trap is successfully laid, a criminal case is filed against the railway servant, which generally ends in his conviction. Subsequently, on the ground of conduct which had led to his conviction on a criminal charge, the railway servant is generally dismissed or removed from service. Thus, there is strong justification for placing under suspension, a Government servant who has been caught accepting illegal gratification in a trap case. Invariably, in such cases, the Government servant should be placed under suspension with a view to making the anti-corruption measures more effective.

(Board's Confidential letter No. E(D&A)85 RG 6-15 dated 16.4.1985)

3.In the following types of cases, there may be adequate justification for placing the concerned employee under suspension whether on the request received from CBI or otherwise, at the stage indicated against each type of case;

i.In a case where a trap has been laid to apprehend a government servant while committing an act of corruption (usually receiving illegal gratification) and the Government servant has been so apprehended

ii.In a case where, on conducting a search, it is found that a Govt. servant is in possession of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income and it appears, prima facie that a charge under Section 5 (I) (e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act could be laid against him; immediately after the prima-facie conclusion has been reached.

iii.In a case where a chargesheet accusing a chargesheet accusing a Govt. Servant of specific acts of corruption or any other offence involving moral turpitude has been filed in a criminal court; immediately after the filing of the chargesheet.

iv.In a case where, after investigation by the CBI a prima facie case is made out and pursuant thereto regular Departmental action for imposition of a major penalty has been instituted against a Government Servant and a chargesheet has been served upon him alleging specific acts of corruption or gross misconduct involving moral turpitude; immediately after the chargesheet has been served upon the Government Servant.

(Board's Confidential letter No. E(D&A)86 RG 6-58 dated 8.8.1986)

4.The Supreme Court, in the case of Niranjan Singh and others Vs Prabakar Raja Ram Kharate and others, have made some observations about the need/ desirability of placing a Government Servant under Suspension against whom serious charges have been framed by a criminal court, unless exceptional circumstances suggesting a contrary course exists. As and when criminal charges are framed by a competent court against a Government servant, the disciplinary authority should consider and decide the desirability of placing such a Government servant, under suspension in accordance with the rules, if he is already not under suspension. If the Government servant is already under suspension or if he is placed under suspension following the criminal charges, the competent authority should also review the case from time to time in accordance with the instructions on the subject and take a decision about the desirability of keeping him under suspension till the disposal of the case by the court.

(Board's letter No. E(D&A)81 RG 6-29 dated 18.7.1981)

II. REVIEW OF CASES OF SUSPENSION

Even though suspension is not considered a punishment it does constitute a great hardship for a railway servant and in fairness to him, it is essential to ensure that this period is reduced to the barest minimum. Also, unduly long suspension periods involve payment of subsistence allowance without the employee performing any useful service to the Government. Hence in case of railway servants under suspension every effort should be made to complete the investigation and file the charge-sheet in a court of competent jurisdiction in cases of prosecution or serve the charge sheet on the railway servant in cases of departmental proceedings, as the case may be, within three months of the date of suspension and in cases in which it may not be possible to do so, the disciplinary authority should report the matter to the next higher authority explaining the reasons for delay. However, in cases of departmental proceedings where a railway servant has been suspended pending investigation, the total period of suspension viz, both in respect of investigation and disciplinary proceedings, should not ordinarily exceed six months. In cases of this type also, where it is not possible to adhere to this time limit, the disciplinary authority should report the matter to the next higher authority, explaining the reasons for delay.

[Board's letter No. E(D&A)95 RG 6-21 dated 6.4.1995. (RBE 33/1995)]

If the investigation is likely to take more time, it should be considered whether the Railway servant should continue to remain under suspension or whether the suspension order should be revoked and the Railway servant permitted to resume duty. If the presence of the Railway servant is considered detrimental to the collection of evidence etc., or if he is likely to tamper with evidence, he may be transferred on revocation of the suspension order.

In regard to cases in which the Central Bureau of Investigation are also concerned with the investigation, the above time limit of three months will have to be reckoned from the date on which the cases are taken up by the CBI for investigation. So far as the CBI are concerned, the instructions above would involve two categories of cases, namely:

i.Cases where the suspension order is passed before the cases are taken up by, or entrusted to, the CBI for investigation; and

ii.Cases where the order of suspension is passed after the cases are taken up by, or entrusted to, the CBI for investigation.

With a view to ensuring that the CBI is posted with information regarding the suspension of the concerned Railway servants, the Board desire that when a Railway servant is placed under suspension either at the request of the CBI or on the initiative of the competent Railway authority in regard to a matter which is under investigation or enquiry by the CBI or which is proposed to be referred to CBI, a copy of the suspension order should be invariably sent to the Director, CBI, with an endorsement thereof to the Superintendent of Police of the Special Police Establishment of CBI. As there is some time lag between the placing of a Railway servant under suspension and the reference of the case to the CBI for investigation. Such cases should be referred to the CBI promptly after the suspension orders are passed, in case it is not possible to refer such cases before the passing of such suspension orders.

(Board's letters No. E(D&A)65 RG 6-44 dated 8.7.1966,
and E(D&A)70 RG 6-14 dated 15.3.1971,
E(D&A)95 RG 6-21 dated 6.4.1995. (RBE 33/1995))

III. SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE

A. The pay and allowance payable during the suspension is regulated under Rule 1342 – RII (FR 53). Under this rule, a railway servant under suspension or deemed to have been placed under suspension by an order of the competent authority shall be entitled to the following payments, namely -

a.A subsistence allowance at an amount equal to the leave salary which the Railway servant would have drawn if he had been on leave on half average pay or on half pay and in addition dearness allowance, if admissible, on the basis of such leave salary.

Provided that where the period of suspension exceeds 3 months the authority which made or is deemed to have made the order of suspension shall be competent to vary the amount of subsistence allowance for any period subsequent to the period of the first 3 months as follows: -

i.The amount of subsistence allowance may be increased by a suitable amount, not exceeding 50 per cent of the subsistence allowance admissible during the period of the first three months, if in the opinion of the said authority, the period of suspension has been prolonged for reasons to be recorded in writing, not directly attributable to the railway servant.

ii.The amount of subsistence allowance may be reduced by a suitable amount not exceeding 50 per cent of the subsistence allowance admissible during the period of the first three months, if in the opinion of the said authority, the period of suspension has been prolonged, due to reasons, to be recorded in writing, directly attributable to the railway servant;

iii.The rate of dearness allowance will be based on the increased or as the case may be, decreased amount of subsistence allowance admissible under sub-clauses (i) and (ii) above.

b.Any other compensatory allowances admissible from time to time on the basis of pay which the railway servant was in receipt on the date of suspension, subject to the fulfilment of other conditions laid down for the drawal of such allowances.

c.No payment as detailed in (a) and (b) above shall be made unless the railway servant furnishes a certificate that he is not engaged in any other employment business, profession or vocation.

Provided that in the case of a Railway servant dismissed, removed or compulsory retired from service, who is deemed to have been placed under suspension or the orders of suspension is deemed to have continued from the date of such dismissal or removal or compulsory retirement, under sub-rule (3) or sub-rule (4) of rule 5 of Railway Servants (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1968, and who fails to produce such a certificate for any period or periods during which he is deemed to be placed under suspension or the orders of suspension is deemed to have continued, he shall be entitled to the subsistence allowance and other allowances equal to the amount by which his earnings during such period or periods fall short of the amount of subsistence allowance and other allowances that would otherwise be admissible to him. If his earnings are equal to or more than the subsistence allowance admissible to him, he will not be paid anything.

B) The quantum of subsistence allowance can be further reviewed as follows: -

i.Though the proviso to Rule 1342 (1)(a)/ FR 53(1)-(a) R-II does not specifically provide for a second or subsequent review, there is no objection to such review(s) being made by the competent authority. Such authority shall be competent to pass orders to increase or decrease the rate of subsistence allowance up to 50% of the amount of the subsistence allowance initially granted, according to the circumstances of each case. A second or subsequent review can be made at any time at the discretion of the competent authority.

ii.It is permissible to reduce the amount of subsistence allowance once increased on the basis of the first review upto 50% of the amount of the subsistence allowance initially granted, if the period of suspension has been prolonged for reasons directly attributable to the railway servant i.e. by his adopting dilatory tactics.

Similarly, in case where the amount of subsistence allowance has been reduced after the first review, the same can be increased up to 50% of the amount initially granted, if the period of suspension has been prolonged for reasons not directly attributable to the Railway servant and the Railway servant has given up dilatory tactics.

(Board's Hotter No. F(E)66 SPN/1/1 dated 21.8.1966).

C. Grant of subsistence allowance of railway servants selected as Apprentices.

Permanent railway servants selected as apprentices continue to remain as railway servants during the period of apprenticeship and therefore, they can be suspended in terms of D&A Rules. During the period of suspension, they should be deemed to be reverted to the substantive posts and paid subsistence allowance for the period of suspension on the basis of their pay in the substantive posts.

(Board's letter No. E(D&A)67 RG 6-5 dated 11.12.1967)

D. Deduction from subsistence allowance

1.The following deductions can be made from the subsistence allowance: -

a.Compulsory deductions

i.Income Tax where due.

ii.House rent and allied charges i.e. electricity charges, water charges,

iii.Station debits, stores debits, workshop debits.

iv.Hospital diet charges.

v.Doctors fee under contract system.

vi.Recovery towards advances and loans taken from Government.

b.OPTIONAL DEDUCTIONS ( which may not be recovered except with the written consent of the suspended employee)

i.LIC premium.

ii.Subscription of Railway Institutes and Clubs.

iii.Cooperative dues

iv.Refund of SBF/PF loans.

v.School fees.

c.Prohibited deductions (which cannot at all be made)

i.Subscription to GPF.

ii.Amounts due on court attachments.

iii.Recovery

continue on original order......

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