State, Private Employers Must Endeavor To Conclude Departmental Action Against Delinquent Employee Within 6 Months: Rajasthan HC

Rajasthan High Court ruled that every employer, whether State or private, must make serious efforts to conclude departmental inquiry against their employees within a reasonable time period, preferably within 6 (six) months as the outer limit, and if it was not possible due to unavoidable causes, within a reasonable extended period based on the cause and nature of inquiry.

The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand was hearing a petition wherein the inquiry report in relation to a charge sheet, issued in 2011, was submitted back in 2014, and till date no final order was passed by the Disciplinary Authority. The delinquent employee-petition had also retired in 2025 during the pendency of the petition.

Opining it as a “glaring example of negligence on the part of the State Instrumentalities” and “a shocking state of affairs”, the Court referred to the Rajasthan Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal), Rules 1958, wherein the Disciplinary Authority was expected to pass the final order immediately after receiving the inquiry report.

The Court further referred to the case of Prem Nath Bali v Registrar, High Court of Delhi and Ors. in which the Supreme Court had highlighted the employer's duty of ensuring conclusion of the Departmental Enquiry against the employee within the shortest possible time by taking priority measures, especially if the employee was under suspension.

The Court also highlighted that,

“As a matter of fact, this Court has time and again experienced that after completion of the enquiry, the issue involved therein does not come to an end because if the findings of the enquiry proceedings have gone against the delinquent employee, he invariably pursues the issue in Court to ventilate his grievance, which again consumes time for its final conclusion.”

In this background, the Court opined that every public or private employer should sincerely try to conclude departmental inquiry against its employee within 6 months as outer limit and if not possible then within reasonable extended period depending on the cause and nature of inquiry.

The Court further directed the Secretary, State of Rajasthan to instruct all State Departments to prepare a mechanism to conclude Departmental Enquiries in shortest possible time span.

Title: Sardar Mal Yadav v State Elementary Education and Ors.

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Raj) 58

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