THE RAILWAY SERVANTS 

(DISCIPLINE & APPEAL) RULES, 1968

PART - V

APPEAL


17. Orders against which no appeal lies - 

Notwithstanding anything contained in this part, no appeal shall lie against -

(i) any order made by the President;

(ii) any order of an interlocutory nature or of the nature of step-in-aid of the final disposal of a disciplinary proceeding, other than an order of suspension;

(iii) any order passed by an inquiring authority in the course of an inquiry under Rule 9.

18. Orders against which appeal lies -

Subject to the provisions of Rule 17, a Railway servant may prefer an appeal against all or any of the following orders, namely:-

(i) an order of suspension made or deemed to have been made under Rule 5;

(ii) an order imposing any of the penalties specified in Rule 6 whether made by the disciplinary authority or by an appellate or revising authority;

(iii) an order enhancing any penalty imposed under Rule 6;

(iv) an order which -

(a) denies or varies to his disadvantage his pay, allowances, pension, Provident Fund benefits, service gratuity or other conditions of service as regulated by rules or by agreement; or

(b) interprets to his disadvantage the provisions of any such rule or agreement;

(v) an order :-

(a) stopping him at the efficiency bar in the time-scale of pay on the ground of his unfitness to cross the bar;

(b) reverting him while officiating in a higher service, grade or post to a lower service, grade or post otherwise than as a penalty;

(c) reducing or withholding the pension or denying the maximum pension admissible to him under the rules, if he is a pensionable Railway servant;

(d) reducing or withholding the Government contribution to Provident Fund and Special Contribution to Provident Fund or Gratuity admissible to him under the State Railway Provident Fund Rules, and Gratuity Rules, if he is a non-pensionable Railway servant;

(e) determining the subsistence and other allowances to be paid to him for the period of suspension or for the period during which he is deemed to be under suspension or for any portion thereof;

(f) determining his pay and allowances :-

(i) for the period of suspension, or

(ii) for the period from the date of his dismissal, removal or compulsory retirement from service to the date of his reinstatement;

(g) determining whether or not the period from the date of his suspension or from the date of his dismissal, removal or compulsory retirement to the date of his reinstatement shall be treated as a period spent on duty for any purpose.

Explanation:- In this rule -

(i) the expression 'Railway servant' includes a person who has ceased to be in Railway Service;

(ii) the expression 'pension' includes additional pension, gratuity and any other retirement benefit.

19. Appellate Authorities -

(1) A Railway servant, including a person who has ceased to be in Railway service, may prefer an appeal against all or any of the orders specified in Rule 18 to the authority specified in this behalf either in
the Schedules or, where no such authority is specified -

(i) where a penalty is imposed by a revising authority under Rule 25, to the authority to which it is immediately subordinate;

(ii) where a penalty is enhanced, either in appeal or on revision, to the authority to which the authority making the order is immediately subordinate;

(iii) in the case of an appeal against an order specified in clause (iv) of Rule 18, relating to a rule, to the authority which appointed the appellant or the authority which made the rule to which the order under appeal relates, whichever of them may be the higher authority, and in the case of an appeal relating to an agreement, to the authority which appointed the appellant;

(iv) in case of an appeal against an order specified in clause (v) of Rule 18 -

(a) in respect of a Railway servant on whom the penalty of dismissal from service can be imposed only by the President, to the President; 

and

(b) in respect of any other Railway servant, to the authority to which the authority making the order is immediately subordinate.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (1),

(i) an appeal against an order in a common proceeding held under Rule 13, shall lie to the authority to which the authority functioning as the disciplinary authority for the purpose of that proceeding, is immediately subordinate;

(ii) where the person who made the order appealed against becomes, by virtue of his subsequent appointment or otherwise, the appellate authority in respect of such order, an appeal against such order shall lie to the authority to which such person is immediately subordinate:
Provided that in a case where the appellate authority is the Railway Board, the appeal shall be dealt with by any Member of the Railway Board, who has not made the order appealed against.

(3) A Railway servant may prefer an appeal against an order imposing any of the penalties specified in Rule 6 to the President, where no such appeal lies to him under sub-rule (1) or sub-rule (2), if such penalty is imposed by any authority other than the President, on such Railway servant in respect of his activities connected with his work as an office bearer of an association, federation or union participating in the Joint Consultation and Compulsory Arbitration Scheme.

20. Period of limitation for appeals -

No appeal preferred under this part, shall be entertained unless such appeal is preferred within a period of forty-five days from the date on which a copy of the order appealed against, is delivered to the
appellant:

Provided that the appellate authority may entertain the appeal, after the expiry of the said period, if it is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal in time.

21. Form and contents and submission of appeal -

(1) Every person preferring an appeal shall do so separately and in his own name. An appeal forwarded through or counter-signed by a legal practitioner or an assisting Railway servant or a Railway Trade Union Official shall not be entertained but shall be returned with the direction to submit it under the signature of the appellant only.

(2) The appeal shall be presented to the authority to whom the appeal lies, a copy being forwarded by the appellant to the authority which made the order appealed against. It shall contain all material statements and arguments on which the appellant relies, shall not contain any disrespectful or improper language and shall be complete in itself.

(3) The authority which made the order appealed against, shall, on receipt of a copy of the appeal, forward the same with its comments thereon together with the relevant records to the appellate authority
without any avoidable delay and without waiting for any direction from the appellate authority.

22. Consideration of appeal -

(1) In the case of an appeal against an order of suspension, the appellate authority shall consider whether in the light of the provisions of Rule 5 and having regard to the circumstances of the case, the order of suspension is justified or not and confirm or revoke the order accordingly.

(2) In the case of an appeal against an order imposing any of the penalties specified in Rule 6 or enhancing any penalty imposed under the said rule, the appellate authority shall consider :-

(a) whether the procedure laid down in these rules has been complied with, and if not, whether such non-compliance has resulted in the violation of any provisions of the Constitution of India or in
the failure of justice;

(b) whether the findings of the disciplinary authority are warranted by the evidence on the record; and

(c) whether the penalty or the enhanced penalty imposed is adequate, inadequate or severe; and pass
orders:-

(i) confirming, enhancing, reducing or setting aside the penalty; or

(ii) remitting the case to the authority which imposed or enhanced the penalty or to any other authority with such directions as it may deem fit in the circumstances of the case:

Provided that -

(i) the Commission shall be consulted in all cases where such consultation is necessary;

(ii) if the enhanced penalty which the appellate authority proposes to impose is one of the penalties specified in clauses (v) to (ix) of Rule 6 and an inquiry under Rule 9 has not already been held in the case, the appellate authority shall, subject to the provisions of Rule 14, itself hold such inquiry or direct that such inquiry be held in accordance with the provisions of Rule 9 and thereafter, on a consideration of the proceedings of such inquiry, make such orders as it may deem fit;

(iii) if the enhanced penalty which the appellate authority proposes to impose, is one of the penalties specified in clauses (v) to (ix) of Rule 6 and an inquiry under Rule 9 has already been held in the case, the appellate authority shall, make such orders as it may deem fit;

(iv) subject to the provisions of Rule 14, the appellate authority shall –
(a) where the enhanced penalty which the appellate authority proposes to impose, is the one specified in clause (iv) of Rule 6 and falls within the scope of the provisions contained in sub-rule (2) of Rule 11; and

(b) where an inquiry in the manner laid down in Rule 9, has not already been held in the case, itself hold such inquiry or direct that such inquiry be held in accordance with the provisions of Rule 9 and thereafter, on a consideration of the proceedings of such inquiry, pass such orders as it may deem fit; and

(v) no order imposing an enhanced penalty shall be made in any other case unless the appellant has been given a reasonable opportunity, as far as may be, in accordance with the  provisions of Rule 11, of making a representation against such enhanced penalty.

(3) In an appeal against any other order specified in Rule 18, the appellate authority shall consider all the circumstances of the case and make such orders as it may deem just and equitable. 23. Implementation of orders in appeal -

The authority which made the order appealed against, shall give effect to the orders passed by the appellate authority.

24. Special provisions for non-gazetted staff -

(1) Where the penalty of dismissal, removal, compulsory retirement, reduction or withholding of increment has been imposed, the appellate authority may, at its discretion and if it considers it necessary, give the non-gazetted Railway servant a personal hearing before disposing of the appeal. At this personal hearing, the Railway servant may be accompanied, if he so chooses, by another Railway servant employed on the same Railway Administration, Office of the Railway Board, its attached office or subordinate office, as the case may be, in which the appellant was or is working or an official (who is not a legal practitioner) of a Railway Trade Union recognized by the Railway Administration on which the appellant was or is employed.

(2) A Group 'C' Railway servant who has been dismissed, removed or compulsorily retired from service may, after his appeal to the appropriate appellate authority has been disposed of, and within 45 days thereafter, apply to the General Manager for a revision of the penalty imposed on him. In this application, he may, if he so chooses, request the General Manager to refer the case to the Railway Rates Tribunal for advice before he disposes of the revision petition. On receipt of such a request, the General Manager shall refer the case to the Chairman, Railway Rates Tribunal for advice sending all the relevant papers.

On receipt of the revision application by the General Manager, or on receipt of advice from the Railway Rates Tribunal, as the case may be, the General Manager shall dispose of the application in accordance with the procedure laid down in Rule 25 and pass such orders as he may think fit: Provided that the procedure mentioned in this sub-rule shall not apply in cases where the General Manager or the Railway Board are the Appellate Authority: Provided further that where a revision application has been disposed of by the General Manager under this sub-rule, no further revision shall lie under Rule 25.

(3) A Group 'D' Railway servant, who has been dismissed, removed or compulsorily retired from service may, after his appeal to the appropriate appellate authority has been disposed of and within 45
days thereafter, apply to the Divisional Railway Manager and where he is not under the control of any Divisional Railway Manager to the senior-most Administrative Grade Officer under whose control he
may be working, for a revision of the penalty imposed on him. The Divisional Railway Manager or the senior-most Administrative Grade Officer, as the case may be, shall thereafter dispose of the revision application in accordance with the procedure laid down in Rule 25 and pass such orders as he may think fit: Provided that the procedure mentioned in this sub-rule shall not apply where the Divisional Railway Manager or the senior-most Administrative Grade Officer or any higher authority, as the case may be, is the appellate authority:

Provided further that where a revision application has been disposed of by the Divisional Railway Manager or the senior-most Administrative Grade Officer under this sub-rule, no further revision shall lie under Rule 25.