HC upholds CAT order against police official

The Madras High Court today upheld a CAT order quashing the charge-memo issued against Y John Nicholson of the then Crime Branch CID, Egmore here stating that he had held the post of President of Tamil Nadu Fencing Association for four years from November 4, 2009 without prior permission from the authority concerned.
Nicholson had moved the Madras bench of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), contending that the mandatory provision available under Rule 13(5) of the Conduct of Rules would become applicable only if an officer held the (sports) post for over four years or for a full term, whichever is less.

CAT quashed the charge-memo on September 13, 2014 stating that he had held the post from November 4, 2009 to November 3, 2013 for which the mandatory provision available under Rule 13(5) of the Conduct of Rules is not applicable.
A division bench comprising Justices A Selvam and P Kalaiyarasan, upholding the CAT order said, "It is a settled principle of law that for deciding/quashing a charge-memo, the tribunal is not having power. But in the instant case, the period mentioned in the charge-memo itself is erroneous.
"Even on the basis of documents filed by the petitioners (Home Secretary and DGP), this court can easily deduce that Nicholson had served as the President of the Association only for two-and-a-half years, and therefore the mandatory provision available under Rule 13(5) of the Conduct of Rules is not at all applicable."

It said, "Under the circumstances, the charge-memo in question is liable to be set aside/quashed. The charge-memo had erroneously stated that he had held the post for four years from November 4, 2009.