CAT stays inquiry after employee's request for proceedings in Hindi denied

A Chandigarh Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has stayed the inquiry proceedings against an employee who challenged the decision rejecting his request to hold the inquiry in Hindi and allow him to seek the assistance of a legal practitioner.

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The Tribunal has directed the Chandigarh Education Department to file a reply and not to proceed with the inquiry until the next hearing scheduled for March 18.

In his application before the Tribunal, the applicant, Ranjit Mishra, an employee of the Education Department, sought interim relief, requesting that the inquiry proceedings based on the notice dated September 4, 2024, be stayed during the pendency of his original application.

Mishra had made several representations, asking for permission to engage a legal practitioner in the inquiry, to conduct the inquiry in Hindi, and to change the Inquiry Officer (IO). However, all his requests were rejected by the authorities.

The applicant’s counsel argued that the rejection of the applicant’s requests for legal assistance and for conducting the inquiry in Hindi was arbitrary. He also noted that the Inquiry Officer had fixed the next date of inquiry for February 25 and claimed that the speed at which the inquiry was being conducted suggested an intent to complete the process on a day-to-day basis, bypassing the necessary procedures under the rules.

On the other hand, the respondents’ counsel stated that the applicant had never raised any objections regarding the use of English or Hindi for the proceedings during the initial hearing, nor did he raise such an objection during the preliminary inquiry.

After considering the arguments, Member (J) Ramesh Singh Thakur observed that, according to the record, the inquiry took place on January 24, 2025, on which date the applicant’s requests for legal assistance and for conducting the inquiry in Hindi were rejected.

The applicant then submitted a representation on January 30, seeking a change of the Inquiry Officer, followed by another representation on February 3, requesting that the inquiry be stayed until his request for a change in the Inquiry Officer was decided.

On February 19, the competent authority rejected the applicant’s request for a change of Inquiry Officer. The applicant received this order on February 22, 2025. The Inquiry Officer subsequently set the next date for the inquiry as February 25, 2025.

Given the circumstances, the Tribunal found the action of the Inquiry Officer in fixing the inquiry dates to be hasty. As a result, the Tribunal directed the respondents not to proceed further with the inquiry until the next hearing scheduled for March 18.

The Tribunal added that the modification or continuation of the interim direction would be considered during the next hearing.