Higher Pay, Stiff Penalty To Shake Up Gujarat Inquiry Panels

Under the new order, retired officers will receive Rs 25,000 for each preliminary inquiry, while serving officers appointed for such inquiries will receive Rs 8,000. In departmental inquiries, retired officers will receive between Rs 32,000 and Rs 42,000, depending on the case.

Joint Secretary (Inquiry) of the General Administration Department, Shabana Qureshi, stated in the order that only officers who have retired from the position of Deputy Secretary or equivalent, or from the post of Superintending Engineer or above in the engineering cadre, will be eligible for appointment to such inquiries.

Furthermore, the selected retired officers must submit a medical fitness certificate and should not have any disciplinary, penal, or criminal case history during their service.

Regarding procedural reforms, the order specifies that any inquiry officer who delays submission of reports, fails to provide charge-wise findings, submits unclear or illogical reports, or fails to obtain permission for an extension will be removed from the inquiry panel.

It is noteworthy that 50 per cent of the honorarium will be paid within 15 days after submission of the report to the disciplinary authority, and the remaining 50 per cent will be paid within 30 days of the report being acted upon.

Preliminary Inquiry Pay Bracket

For preliminary inquiries, based on circumstances, merits, report quality, and case complexity, a retired officer will receive Rs 25,000 per case. Serving officers conducting inquiries will be paid Rs 8,000 per case, based on their report quality.

Departmental Inquiry Pay Bracket

Retired officers on departmental inquiry panels will be paid between Rs 27,000-Rs 37,000, based on the number of accused and witnesses. In joint inquiries, the amount will range between Rs 30,000-Rs 42,000. Serving officers handling departmental inquiries will be paid between Rs 8,000-Rs 17,000, based on the specifics of a case and the number of accused. The honorarium for presenting officers, which earlier ranged between Rs 500-Rs 1,000, has now been raised to Rs 3,000-Rs 8,000.

Penalty For Delayed Case Reports

Inquiry officers must complete preliminary inquiries within a maximum of three months. If an extension is required due to incomplete reporting, only one additional extension of three months will be granted. Failing to meet the timeline will result in a 20 per cent deduction in the honorarium. If the report is still not submitted within six months, a further 30 per cent will be deducted. Serving officers can't be assigned more than 12 cases annually.

Who Can Be Investigated?

The GAD order also clarifies that if an inquiry involves the head of a department, the case has to be handled by a higher-ranking officer. Inquiry officers may be assigned cases involving Class 1 to Class 4 officers.

But if the accused is a Deputy Secretary or Additional Collector-level officer, the matter has to be handed over to the office of the Special Departmental Inquiry Officer. Inquiry officers will be provided with video conferencing facilities and vehicles if travelling is required. If a case is reopened due to special circumstances, no additional honorarium will be paid.