15. Disciplinary Offences

Chapter XV
Disciplinary Offences

161. The departmental action may be taken against the service personnel for any of the following disciplinary offences relating to working hours:
(a) lateness for work without sufficient reasons;
(b) early departure from work without sufficient reasons;
(c) habitual absence from work without permission of the responsible superior officer;
(d) absence without leave in breach of leave disciplines;
(e) taking more days than admissible leave or failure to return to work at the end of the leave period without sufficient reasons;
(f) failure to join the transferred post at the end of the admissible joining time without sufficient reasons.

162. The departmental action may be taken against the service personnel for any of the following disciplinary offences relating to performance of duties and proficiency:
(a) failure to fulfill duties or negligence in performing duties;
(b) loss and damage of the State-owned money or property due to the negligence or failure to obey rules, regulations, orders and directives;
(c) lack of proficiency for the appointed post or poor qualification or lack of qualification;
(d) failure to abide by the orders and directives issued in accord with law.

163. The departmental action may be taken against the service personnel for any of the following disciplinary offences relating to behavioural discipline in the workplace:
(a) submitting personal data which are important in consideration for appointment, promotion and scholarship by cheating or concealing or conducting dishonestly;
(b) lacking honesty, cheating, attempting to cheat or abetting to cheat in the performance of official duties;
(c) making false allegation against any other service personnel with intent to cause harm, anonymous communication by misappropriating the name of other person or concealing the right name;
(d) instigating or initiating or abetting to cause the disruption of peace at workplace or of unity among service personnel;
(e) gambling or consuming drinks or drugs intoxicant at workplace;
(f) using narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances;
(g) acting in discourteous manners in performing the duties;
(h) quarrelling with or assaulting any other person or causing affray at workplace;
(i) wilful destruction of office equipment or causing loss and damage to it;
(j) violation of the disciplines for the safety and security of the workplace wilfully or negligently;
(k) behaving without dignity and wearing disrespectable attire by a service personnel;
(l) taking bribe, giving or accepting gratification;
(m) soliciting or obtaining or agreeing to accept any benefits including pecuniary benefits for the task to be carried out or business which has been carried out in discharge of the service personnel’s duties;
(n) soliciting or obtaining or agreeing to accept any benefits including pecuniary benefits to persuade any other service personnel to carry out a case or to prevent him of discharging his duties;
(o) soliciting or obtaining or agreeing to accept any benefits including pecuniary benefits to carry out a case in an unfair way by themselves or by any other service personnel;
(p) soliciting or obtaining or agreeing to accept the above illegal benefits directly from the persons and from the persons related to the case or the individual;
(q) misappropriation or attempt to misappropriate or abetting in the misappropriation of money or property related to the work;
(r) violation of rules of conduct and disciplines laid down for the service personnel organization and the category of service personnel;
(s) refusal to obey the legitimate instructions of the superior officer by the service personnel themselves or instigating, threatening and inducing other service personnel to do so;
(t) failure to protect classified official documents or providing confidential information directly or indirectly to the irrelevant persons;
(u) writing or distributing books which is seditious for the State and the State Government;
(v) participating or instigating or abetting in any activity which has an adverse effect on national security and rule of law.

164. In respect of breach of law, the departmental action may be taken against the service personnel in the following conditions:
(a) being detained in custody by legal action;
(b) being charged with an offence relating to the misconduct or severely punishable offence;
(c) being convicted by a court under legal action.
Explanation – In the above mentioned conditions, whether or not to take departmental action simultaneously with criminal proceedings at the court of law, whether or not the service personnel breaches the rules of conduct of the service personnel, violates the departmental disciplines and fails to fulfill duties should be taken into consideration.

165. (a) If a service personnel is prosecuted or detained in custody for a crime committed out of his duty hours, the relevant prosecuting body shall inform in writing to the head of service personnel organization. The relevant court also has to send a copy of the final order or the judgment to the head of the service personnel organization.
(b) If the service personnel is to be detained in custody for an act or omission which is legally punishable with an offence or failure to fulfill duties during the performance of duties, the relevant organization has the right to detain in custody only after obtaining permission from the head of service personnel organization to do so. Similarly, the service personnel is to be prosecuted for an act or omission which is legally punishable with an offence which occurs during the performance of his duties, the relevant organization shall prosecute the service personnel only after obtaining permission from the head of service personnel organization to do so.

166. In imposing a disciplinary penalty on the service personnel who is found guilty of committing a disciplinary offence, any one suitable penalty or more than one penalty out of nine penalties prescribed in Section 53 of the law may be imposed by balancing the nature of the offence and the act or omission of the service personnel.