In the case of Ajay Kumar Choudhary v. Union of India, (2015) 7 SCC 291 : AIR 2015 SC 2389, the Supreme Court had directed that the suspension of a Government servant shall not be extended beyond a period of three months, if within this period the Memorandum of Charges / charge-sheet is not served on the delinquent officer / employee [see: Suspension order not to extend beyond 3 months if charge-sheet is not served, says Supreme Court].
In fact, subsequently, the Central Government has itself directed that where a Government servant is placed under suspension, the order of suspension should not extend beyond three months, if within this period the charge-sheet is not served to the charged officer [see: Suspension not to exceed 3 months if charge sheet not served, says Central Government.]
If, in spite of these specific directions, your friend continues to be under suspension beyond 3 months while the charge sheet is yet to be served on him, it should be challenged in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). If the concerned authority does not obey the lawful directions relating to suspension, then such authority may be himself subject to disciplinary action if it is found to be deliberate or due to gross negligence; your friend can try making complaint in this regard or may insert a prayer in the Original Application before CAT; but chances of success in such efforts to get the concerned authority penalised would be generally limited. Chances of a successful contempt action against such authority for violating the court orders would also be less, generally speaking. The first effort of your friend should be to get the suspension revoked; and, in fact, when he is aware of 3 months’ time limit he could have challenged it earlier and should not have waited for one year.
Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.
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