Oral evidence key to punish govt employee in departmental proceedings: Allahabad HC

Lucknow, Jul 7 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court has observed that a government employee cannot be punished in departmental proceedings unless the charges are proved through oral evidence. The Lucknow bench of the court on Monday noted that imposing a penalty solely based on documentary evidence, without examining witnesses or conducting a regular oral inquiry, violates the principles of natural justice and the Uttar Pradesh Government Servant (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1999. Justice Karunesh Singh Pawar passed the order while allowing a petition filed by Santosh Kumar Singh, the then sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Mohanlalganj. The case arose from alleged irregularities in the allotment of residential leases in Bhasanda village in 2019. Following a departmental inquiry, the state government in September 2025 permanently withheld one annual increment of Singh and awarded him a censure entry. His representation against the punishment was rejected in December 2025. The petitioner argued that the inquiry officer neither conducted an oral hearing nor examined witnesses, depriving him of the opportunity to cross-examine them. He also relied on the Board of Revenue's opinion, which stated that he had exercised due diligence, initiated corrective measures after detecting the irregularities and that there was no evidence of mala fide against him. Allowing the petition, the high court found that the department had failed to lead oral evidence to establish the charges and that the disciplinary authority ignored the petitioner's defence as well as the Board of Revenue's opinion before mechanically imposing the penalty. It also noted an unexplained delay of nearly four years in concluding the inquiry. PTI COR NAV KSI KSI