I have replied to a similar question earlier, which may be relevant to your question as well. Please see: Can departmental proceedings be initiated simultaneously with criminal case?
As I answered in the aforesaid question, as per the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court, it is possible to simultaneously conduct department proceedings and the criminal proceedings on the same charges. Therefore, legally, there is no bar for conducting departmental enquiry when criminal case on the same charge is still pending in the court. It is in the discretion of the competent authority.
Sometimes, even though the charge in the departmental enquiry as well as in the criminal case may be the same, they may have to be looked at from different angles; for example, the charge in a criminal case is based purely on the legal definition of the offence, whereas the charge in the departmental enquiry may involve the ethical or moral questions also. A departmental misconduct has a much wider scope than an offence.
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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