R.P. Kapur vs Union Of India And Anr on 19 November, 1963
(10) Following the decisions in the matters of R.P. Kapur V.
Union of India, AIR 1964 SC 787; Balvantrai Ratilal Patel V.
State of Maharashtra AIR 1968 SC 800; V.P. Gidroniya Vs.
State of M.P. (1970) 1 SCC 362; U.P. Rajya Krishi Utpadan
Mandi Parishad -vs- Sanjiv Rajan, 1993 Supp (3) SCC 483, the
Apex Court in the matter of State of Orissa through its
Principal Secretary, Home Dept. -vs- Bimal Kumar Mohanty
(1994) 4 SCC 126 held that "Normally when an appointing
authority or the disciplinary authority seeks to suspend an
employee, pending inquiry or contemplated inquiry or pending
investigation into grave charges of misconduct or
defalcation of funds or serious acts of omission and
commission, the order of suspension would be passed after
taking into consideration the gravity of the misconduct
sought to be inquired into or investigated and the nature of
the evidence placed before the appointing authority and on
application of the mind by disciplinary authority.
Appointing authority or disciplinary authority should
consider the above aspects and decide whether it is
expedient to keep an employee under suspension pending
aforesaid action. It would not be as an administrative
routine or an automatic order to suspend an employee. It
should be on consideration of the gravity of the alleged
misconduct or the nature of the allegations imputed to the
delinquent employee. The Court or the Tribunal must
consider each case on its own facts and no general law could
be laid down in that behalf. Suspension is not a punishment
but is only one of forbidding or disabling an employee to
discharge the duties of office or post held by him. It
would be another thing if the action is actuated by mala
fides, arbitrary or for investigation or for ulterior
purpose. The suspension must be a step in aid to the
ultimate result of the investigation or; inquiry. The
authority also should keep in mind public interest of the
impact of the delinquent's continuance in office while
facing departmental inquiry or trial of a criminal charge."