(DISCIPLINE & APPEAL) RULES, 1968
PART - III
PENALTIES AND DISCIPLINARY AUTHORITIES
6. Penalties : The following penalties may, for good and sufficient reasons and as herein after provided, be imposed on a Railway servant, namely:-
Minor Penalties -
(i) Censure;
(ii) Withholding of his promotion for a specified period;
(iii) Recovery from his pay of the whole or part of any pecuniary loss caused by him to the
Government or Railway Administration by negligence or breach of orders;
(iii-a) Withholding of the Privilege Passes or Privilege Ticket Orders or both;
(iii-b) Reduction to a lower stage in the time scale of pay by one stage for a period not exceeding three years, without cumulative effect and not adversely affecting his pension;
(iv) Withholding of increments of pay for a specified period with further directions as to whether on the expiry of such period this will or will not have the effect of postponing the future increments of his pay;
Major Penalties -
(v) Save as provided for in clause (iii-b) reduction to a lower stage in the time-scale of pay for a specified period, with further directions as to whether on the expiry of such period, the reduction will or will not have the effect of postponing the future increments of his pay;
(vi) Reduction to a lower time scale of pay, grade, post, or service, with or without further directions regarding conditions of restoration to the grade or post or service from which the Railway servant was reduced and his seniority and pay on such restoration to that grade, post or service;
(vii) Compulsory retirement;
(viii) Removal from service which shall not be a disqualification for future employment under the Government or Railway Administration;
(ix) Dismissal from service which shall ordinarily be a disqualification for future employment under the Government or Railway Administration:
Provided that in cases of persons found guilty of any act or omission which resulted or would have, ordinarily, resulted in collision of Railway trains, one of the penalties specified in clauses (viii) and
(ix) shall, ordinarily, be imposed and in cases of passing Railway signals at danger, one of the penalties specified in clauses (v) to (ix) shall, ordinarily be imposed and where such penalty is not imposed, the reasons therefor shall be recorded in writing:
Provided further that in case of persons found guilty of possessing assets disproportionate to known sources of income or found guilty of having accepted or having obtained from any person any gratification, other than legal remuneration, as a motive or reward for doing or forbearing to do any official act, one of the penalties specified in clauses (viii) or (ix) shall ordinarily be imposed and where such penalty is not imposed, the reasons therefor shall be recorded in writing.
Explanation - The following shall not amount to a penalty within the meaning of this rule, namely:-
(i) withholding of increments of pay of a Railway servant for failure to pass any departmental examination in accordance with the rules or orders governing the Service to which he belongs or post which he holds or the terms of his appointment;
(ii) stoppage of a Railway servant at the efficiency bar in the time-scale of pay on the ground of his unfitness to cross the bar;
(iii) non-promotion of a Railway servant, whether in a substantive or officiating capacity, after consideration of his case, to a Service, grade or post for promotion to which he is eligible;
(iv) reversion of a Railway servant officiating in higher Service, grade or post to a lower Service, grade or post, on the ground that he is considered to be unsuitable for such higher Service, grade or post, or on any administrative ground unconnected with his conduct;
(v) reversion of a Railway servant, appointed on probation to any other Service, grade or post, to his permanent Service, grade or post during or at the end of the period of probation in accordance with the terms of his appointment or the rules and orders governing such probation;
(vi) replacement of the services of a Railway servant, whose services had been borrowed from any other Ministry or Department of the Central Government or a State Government or an authority under the control of the Central Government or State Government, at the disposal of the Government or the authority from which the services of such Railway servant had been borrowed;
(vii) compulsory retirement of a Railway servant in accordance with the provisions relating to his superannuation or retirement;
(viii) termination of the services -
(a) of a Railway servant appointed on probation, during or at the end of the period of his probation, in accordance with the terms of his appointment or the rules and orders governing such probation, or
(b) of a temporary Railway servant in accordance with rule 301 contained in Volume I of the
Indian Railway Establishment Code (Fifth Edition -1985), or
(c) of a Railway servant employed under an agreement, in accordance with the terms of such agreement;
(ix) discharge of Railway servants -
(a) for inefficiency due to failure to conform to the requisite standard of physical fitness;
(b) on reduction of establishment.
7. Disciplinary Authorities -
(1) The President may impose any of the penalties specified in Rule 6 on any Railway servant.
(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-rule (1), any of the penalties specified in Rule 6 may be imposed on a Railway servant by the authorities specified in Schedules I, II and III.
(3) The disciplinary authority in the case of a Railway servant officiating in a higher post, shall be determined with reference to the officiating post held by him at the time of taking action.
8. Authority to Institute Proceedings -
(1) the President or any other authority empowered by him, by general or special order, may -
(a) institute disciplinary proceedings against any Railway servant;
(b) direct a disciplinary authority to institute disciplinary proceedings against any Railway servant on whom that disciplinary authority is competent to impose, under these rules, any of the penalties specified in Rule 6.
(2) A disciplinary authority competent under these rules to impose any of the penalties specified in clauses (i) to (iv) of Rule 6 may, subject to the provisions of clause (c) of sub-rule (1) of Rule 2 institute disciplinary proceedings against any Railway servant for the imposition of any of the penalties specified in clauses (v) to (ix) of Rule 6, notwithstanding that such disciplinary authority is not competent, under these rules, to impose any of the latter penalties.