Section 5 in The Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Service (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 1988
5. Penalties.
- The following penalties may, for good and sufficient reasons, and as hereinafter provided, be imposed on an employee, namely :-Minor Penalties :(i)censure ;(ii)withholding of his promotions ;(iii)recovery from his pay of the whole or part of any pecuniary loss caused by him to the Board by negligence or breach of orders ;(iv)withholding of increments of pay ;Major Penalties :(v)reduction to a lower stage in the time-scale of pay for a specified period, with further directions as to whether or not the Board employee will earn increments of pay during the period of such reduction and whether on the expiry of such reduction and whether on the expiry of such period, the reduction will or will not have the effect of postponing the future increments of his pay;(vi)reduction to a lower time-scale of pay, grade, post or service which shall ordinarily be a bar to the promotion of the employee to the time- scale of pay, grade, post or service from which he was reduced, with or without further directions regarding conditions of restoration to the grade or post or service from which the employee was reduced and his seniority and pay on such restoration to that grade, post or service ;(vii)compulsory retirement ;(viii)removal from the service which shall not be a disqualification for future employment under the Board or committee ;(ix)dismissal from the service which shall ordinarily be disqualification for future employment under the Board or Committee.Explanation. - The following shall not amount to a penalty within the meaning of this rule namely :-(i)Withholding of increments of pay of an employee for his failure to pass any departmental examination in accordance with the rules or orders governing the service to which he belongs or post which he holds or the terms of his appointment ;(ii)Stoppage of the employee at the efficiency bar in the time-scale of pay on the ground of his unfitness to cross the efficiency bar ;(iii)non-promotion of the employee, whether in a substantive or officiating capacity, after consideration of his case, to a service, grade or post for promotion to which he is eligible ;(iv)reversion of an employee officiating in a higher service, grade, or post to a lower service, grade or post, on the ground that he is considered to be unsuitable for such higher service, grade or post or on any administrative ground unconnected with his conduct ; or(v)reversion of the employee appointed on probation to any other service, grade or post, to his permanent service, grade or post during or at the end of the period of probation in accordance with the terms of his appointment or the rules and orders governing such probation ;(vi)compulsory retirement of the employee in accordance with the provisions relating to his superannuation or retirement ;(vii)termination of the services, -(a)of the employee appointed on probation, during or at the end of the period of his probation in accordance with the terms of his appointment or the rules and orders governing such probation ; or(b)of a temporary employee appointed otherwise than under contract, on the expiration of the period of the appointment, or on the abolition of the post or before the due time in accordance with the terms of his appointment ; or(c)of the employee under an agreement in accordance with the terms of such agreement.Note :- Punishing authorities have full discretion to circulate the reasons for dismissal where such circulation is considered desirable in the public interest.(2)In order to guard against the inadvertent re-employment of persons dismissed from service the authority passing an order of dismissal shall intimate to the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Punjab Criminal Investigation Department, the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police of the district of which the person concerned is a permanent resident the name of such a person and any other particulars required for purpose of identification. Similarly, if a person happens to be a resident of another State, the aforesaid officers of that State should be informed accordingly.(3)The provisions of this rule shall not be construed to derogate from the provisions of Section 36 of the Punjab Courts Act, 1918, the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, or any other law authorising the imposing of fines on the ministerial establishment governed by these laws and the authority competent to award the punishment of fine may do so in addition to the punishments mentioned in this rule.(4)The discharge of a person appointed to hold a temporary appointment, otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of Explanation (vii) (b) amounts to removal or dismissal and is, therefore, appealable under these rules.(5)The distinction between censure, the withholding of promotion and non- selection to a selection post is of considerable importance. Both censure and the withholding of promotion are appealable under these rules, on the other hand, non-selection for a selection post is not appealable. If an employee, because of an unsatisfactory record and unfavourable confidential reports, is not selected for a selection post and some other employee junior to him is selected in preference, this does not amount to the withholding of promotion. If any enquiry is held against the employee and an order of censure is passed on him, it is open to him to appeal ; if he does not appeal or his appeal is rejected and is subsequently because of the existence of this censure in his record he is not selected for a selection post, and some other employee junior to him is selected in preference, this also does not amount to the withholding of promotion. If, however, an inquiry is held against the employee and an order is passed that he should not be promoted to a selection post for a definite period or until he has obtained good reports this order would amount to the infliction of the penalty of withholding promotion. This distinction between non-selection for a selection post and withholding of a promotion may be summed up as being that in the former case the employee in question is considered for selection but some other employee is preferred on his merits, while in the later case the employee in question has been declared before hand as a disciplinary measure, to be ineligible for selections irrespective of the merits of other employees available.(6)(i)While reduction of a seniority as an independent penalty is not provided for in Rule 5 and cannot be imposed as such, the loss of seniority as a result of an order of reduction to a lower post or time scale being inherent in the order of reduction cannot be avoided.(ii)The seniority on repromotion of employee reduced to a lower post or time-scale should be determined by the date of such repromotion in accordance with the orders issued by the competent authority on the subject of seniority. Such employee should not be restored to his original position unless this is specifically laid down at the time the order of punishment is passed or revised on appeal.(iii)An employee in respect of whom one of the penalties included in Rule 5(vi) was imposed, will on repromotion count previous service in the higher grade under Rule 4.4 of the Punjab Civil Services Rules, Volume I, Part I, unless the order of punishment or the order passed on appeal directs otherwise.(iv)An order debarring the employee from counting his past service in the grade from which he is reduced if and when reappointed to it, amounts to an order of reduction to a stage of the grade lower than that admissible under Rule 4.4 of the Punjab Civil Services Rules, Volume I, Part I, and does not, therefore, fall outside the scope of Rule 5.(7)Unauthorised desertion of his post by the employee in face of enemy action, or threat of enemy action, clearly amounts to grave misconduct and would, therefore, constitute a 'good and sufficient' reason within the meaning of Rule 5, for removal or dismissal in addition to any penalty provided in the East Punjab Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, 1947. Loss of pension would then follow automatically by virtue of the provisions of Rule 2.5 of Punjab Civil Service Rules, Volume II and it would also be possible to forfeit the Board's contribution, if any, to the individual's Provident Fund or (Gratuity as ordered by the competent authority and to forfeit the Board's contribution, if any, to the individual's Provident Fund) as the case may be.
