Section 88 in Jammu and Kashmir Forest (Protection) Force Rules, 2012
88. Procedure for imposing major punishments.
(1)No order of dismissal, removal, compulsory retirement or reduction in rank shall be passed on any member of the Force without holding an inquiry, as far as may be in the manner provided hereinafter in which he has been informed in writing of the grounds of charges on which it is proposed to take action, and has been afforded a reasonable opportunity of defending himself.(2)(i)Whenever the disciplinary authority is of the opinion that there are grounds for inquiry into the truth of any imputation of misconduct or misbehaviour against any member of the Force, it may itself inquire into, or appoint an Inquiry Officer higher in rank to the member charged but not below the rank of Inspector.(ii)Where the disciplinary authority itself holds the inquiry, any reference to the Inquiry Officer in the rules shall be construed as a reference to the disciplinary authority.(3)On receipt of complaint or otherwise, the disciplinary authority on going through the facts alleged or brought out shall decide whether it is a case for major or minor punishments. No attempt shall be made to convert cases punishable under section 15 or section 16 of the Act into disciplinary cases nor divert cases in respect of which major punishments are imposable to the category of cases where minor or petty punishments are imposable(4)Where it is proposed to hold an inquiry against enrolled member of the Force under this rule, the disciplinary authority may order that the enrolled member shall not be transferred to any other place or given leave without its written permission till the conclusion of the disciplinary proceedings, and the disciplinary authority shall draw or cause to be drawn up(i)The substance of the imputations of the misconduct or misbehaviour into definite and distinct articles of charge;(ii)A statement of the imputation of misconduct or misbehaviour in support of each article of charge which shall contain—(a)A statement of all relevant facts including any admission or confession made by the enrolled member of the Force; and(b)A list of documents by which and a list of witnesses by whom the articles of charge are proposed to be sustained.(5)The disciplinary authority shall deliver or cause to be delivered to the delinquent member, at least seventy-two hours before the commencement of the inquiry, a copy of the articles of charge, the statement of imputations of misconduct or misbehaviour and a list of documents and witnesses by which each article of charge is proposed to be sustained and fix a date when and the place where the inquiry is to commence; subsequent dates and places being fixed by the Inquiry Officer.(6)Where the enrolled member charged has absconded or where it is not possible to serve the documents on him in person or where he deliberately evades service, the procedure laid down in Chapter VI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Samvat 1989, shall be adopted by the Inquiry Officer for service of such documents and the same shall be deemed to be a conclusive proof of service.(7)The enrolled member charged shall not be allowed to bring in a legal practitioner at the proceedings but he may be allowed to take the assistance of any other member of the force hereinafter referred to as "friend" who in the opinion of the Inquiry Officer may, at the request of the party charged, put his defence properly. Such "friend" must be a serving member of the Force, of or below the rank of Inspector for the time being posted in the same unit where the proceedings are pending and not acting as a "friend" in any other proceedings pending anywhere, such "friend" shall, however, be allowed to address the Inquiry Officer as also to cross-examine the witnesses produced against the delinquent officer only on the charges framed against him.(8)If the enrolled member charged fails to turn up on the day fixed for the start of inquiry and no reasonable excuse is offered for not being present on the fixed time and place, the Inquiry Officer may commence the inquiry ex-parte.(9)At the commencement of the inquiry, the party charged shall be asked to enter a plea of "guilty" or "not guilty" after which evidence necessary to establish the charge shall be let in. The evidence shall be confined to the charge and may either be oral or documentary, and if oral(i)It shall be direct;(ii)It shall be recorded by the Inquiry Officer in the presence of the party charged; and the party charged shall be allowed to cross-examine the witness, if "friend" is absent.(10)If the witnesses are Government officers of a rank superior to the party charged, the Inquiry Officer may, at the request of the party charged, put the questions to such officer.(11)All evidences shall be recorded, in the presence of the party charged by the Inquiry Officer himself or on his dictation by a scribe. Cross-examination by the party charged or the fact of his declining to cross-examine the witness, as the case may be, shall also be recorded. The statement of each witness shall be read over to him and explained, if necessary, in the language of the witness, whose signature shall be obtained as a token of his having understood the contents. The Inquiry Officer shall also sign statement and the party charged. Copy of each statement shall be given to the party charged who shall acknowledge receipt on the statement of witness itself. The Inquiry Officer shall record a certificate of having read over the statement to witness in the presence of the party charged.(12)Documentary exhibits, if any, are to be numbered while being presented by the concerned witness and reference of the number shall be noted in the statement of the witness. Such documents may be admitted in evidence as exhibits without being formally proved unless the party charged does not admit the genuineness of such a document and wishes to cross -examine the witness who is purported to have signed it. Copies of the exhibits may be given to the party charged on demand except in the case of voluminous documents, where the party charged may be allowed to inspect the same in the presence of the Inquiry Officer and take notes.(13)Unless specifically mentioned in these rules, the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Samvat 1989, and Evidence Act, Samvat 1977, shall not apply to the departmental proceedings under these rules.(14)The party charged shall then be examined and his statement recorded by the Inquiry Officer. If the party charged has pleaded guilty and does not challenge the evidence on record, the proceedings shall be closed for orders. If he pleads "not guilty", he shall be required to file within 10 days a written statement together with a list of such witnesses as he may wish to produce in his defence and giving therein a gist of evidence that each witness is expected to give. If he declines to file a written statement, he shall again be examined by the Inquiry Officer on the expiry of the period allowed and his statement, if any, recorded.(15)If the party charged refuses to produce any witnesses or to produce any evidence in his defence, the proceedings shall be closed for orders. If he produces any evidence, the Inquiry Officer shall proceed to record the evidence. If the Inquiry Officer considers that the evidence of any witness or any document which the party charged wants to produce in his defence is not material to the issue involved in the case, or is requested to be produced with intention to delay the proceedings, he may refuse to call such witness or to allow document to be produced in evidence, but in all such cases he must briefly record his reasons for considering the evidence undesirable. When all relevant evidence I- as been brought on record, the proceedings shall be closed for orders after recording the statement, if any, of the party charged and obtaining any clarification, if necessary, from him.(16)Under no circumstances additional prosecution witnesses shall be examined after defence has been let in and in case prosecution is allowed to produce additional evidence, defence witnesses may also be allowed in rebuttal. However, if at any stage during the inquiry, it appears to the Inquiry Officer that examination of any witness who has not been produced by either party so far or recall of any witness who has already been examined is essential in the interest of justice or to clear any doubt, he may summon him for the purpose and examine him as a witness of the Inquiry Officer after recording his reasons for doing so. Such a witness may also be cross-examined by the parties, if desired.(17)Whenever any Inquiry Officer after having heard and recorded the whole or any part of the evidence in an inquiry, ceases to exercise jurisdiction therein and is succeeded by another Inquiry Officer who has and exercises such jurisdiction, the Inquiry Officer so succeeding may act on the evidence so recorded by his predecessor, or partly recorded by his predecessor, and partly recorded by him or himself record it afresh as he deems expedient.(18)At the conclusion of the inquiry, the Inquiry Officer shall prepare a report of the inquiry recording his findings on each of the charges with reasons therefor. The findings must be of "guilty" or "not guilty" and no room shall be allowed for "benefit of doubt" or personal surmises. A charge shall be deemed to have been proved if after considering the evidence before him, the Inquiry Officer believes the ingredients, constituting the charge to exist or considers their existence so probable that a prudent man ought, under the circumstances of the particular case, to act upon the supposition that they exist.(19)If in the opinion of the Inquiry Officer the proceedings of the inquiry establish charges different from those originally framed, he may record his findings on such charges:Provided that findings on such charges shall not be recorded unless the party charged has admitted the facts constituting them and has had an opportunity of defending against them.
