Reference: Circular No.14/3/06 - F.No. 006/PRC/001 dt. 13.3.06

The Commission has been emphasising the need for completing the
departmental inquiry proceedings expeditiously so that errant officials are punished
at the earliest. It has been observed that one of the major causes for delay lies in
making the listed documents available for the inquiry. Sometimes, poor drafting of
the charge sheet also creates confusion about the documents relied upon. The
Commission has also noted with serious concern, that while advice of the
Commission is sought on the basis of indicated lapses/irregularities and the
suspected public servants’ role, the charge-sheets are not drafted properly to reflect
the seriousness of the lapses. The lapses are not covered precisely in the articles of
charge and certain lapses, on the basis of which advice is obtained, are not included
in the charge-sheets, thereby limiting the areas of operation/effectiveness of the
Inquiry Officer. There are also cases where there was no credible evidence to back
the charge, as a result of which, the said charge could not be proved during the
inquiry. This not only results in errant officials escaping punishment, but also causes
avoidable embarrassment to the Vigilance Administration and the Commission.

2. It is with a view to checking such occurrences that the Commission has been
emphasising that while seeking Commission’s advice, wherever disciplinary
proceedings are proposed, references, complete in all respects, including the draft
charge-sheets with supporting evidence, should be made to the Commission. While
this was not to be construed as vetting of the charge-sheets by the Commission, it
was intended to ensure that the specific lapses were duly reflected in the chargesheet
before it was decided to proceed against an officer. It may be pointed out that
in Para 2.14.1(v) of Chapter II of the Vigilance Manual (Vol.I), it has been clearly
stipulated that the CVO is required “to ensure that the charge-sheets to the
concerned employees are drafted properly”. It is needless to say that this
includes the different aspects of the charge-sheet mentioned in the aforesaid para.
Accordingly, the CVOs are directed to carefully scrutinise the draft charge-sheets
before sending their proposals, suggesting departmental proceedings and seeking
Commission’s advice on the same. The Commission may take an adverse view
on a CVO, who sends incomplete references, besides being constrained to
return such proposals.