The Departmental Inquiries (Enforcement of Attendance of Witnesses and Production of Documents) Act, 1972

(1) This Act may be called the Departmental Inquiries (Enforcement ofAttendance of Witnesses and Production of Documents) Act, 1972. (2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir*.

The provisions of this Act shall apply toevery departmental inquiry made in relation to-- (a) persons appointed to public services or posts in connection with the affairs of the Union; (b) persons who, having been appointed to any public service or post in connection with theaffairs of the Union, are in service or pay of,-- (i) any local authority in any Union territory, (ii) any corporation established by or under a Central Act and owned or controlled by theCentral Government, (iii) any Government company within the meaning of section 617 of the CompaniesAct, 1956 (1 of 1956), in which not less than fifty-one per cent. of the paid-up share capital isheld by the Central Government or any company which is a subsidiary of such Governmentcompany, (iv) any society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860), which issubject to the control of the Central Government.

For the purposes of this Act,-- (a) "departmental inquiry" means an inquiry held under and in accordance with-- (i) any law made by Parliament or any rule made thereunder, or (ii) any rule made under the proviso to article 309, or continued under article 313, of theConstitution of India, into any allegation of lack of integrity against any person to whom this Act applies; (b) "inquiring authority" means an officer or authority appointed by the Central Government orby any officer or authority subordinate to that Government to hold a departmental inquiry andincludes any officer or authority who is empowered by or under any law or rule for the time being inforce to hold such inquiry; (c) "lack of integrity" includes bribery or corruption.

(1) Where the Central Government is of opinion that for the purposes of any departmentalinquiry it is necessary to summon as witnesses, or call for any document from, any class or category ofpersons, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, authorise the inquiring authority to exercise thepower specified in section 5 in relation to any person within such class or category and thereupon theinquiring authority may exercise such power at any stage of the departmental inquiry. (2) The power conferred on the Central Government by sub-section (1) may also be exercised by suchauthority, not being an authority inferior to the appointing authority in relation to the person againstwhom the departmental inquiry is being held, as the Central Government may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, specify in this behalf.

(1) Every inquiring authority authorised under section 4 (hereafter referred to as the"authorised inquiring authority") shall have the same powers as are vested in a civil court under the Codeof Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), while trying a suit, in respect of the following matters, namely:-- (a) the summoning and enforcing the attendance of any witness and examining him on oath; (b) requiring the discovery and production of any document or other material which is producibleas evidence; (c) the requisitioning of any public record from any court or office. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the authorised inquiring authority shall notcompel the Reserve Bank of India, the State Bank of India, any subsidiary bank as defined in clause (k) ofsection 2 of the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959 (38 of 1959), or any corresponding newbank constituted under section 3 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings)Act, 1970 (5 of 1970), (a) to produce any books of account or other documents which the Reserve Bank of India, theState Bank of India, the subsidiary bank or the corresponding new bank claims to be of a confidentialnature, or (b) to make any such books or documents a part of the record of the proceedings of thedepartmental inquiry, or (c) to give inspection of any such books or documents, if produced, to any party before it or toany other person. (3) Every process issued by an authorised inquiring authority for the attendance of any witness or forthe production of any document shall be served and executed through the District Judge within the locallimits of whose jurisdiction the witness or other person, on whom the process is to be served or executed,voluntarily resides or carries on business or personally works for gain, and, for the purpose of taking anyaction for the disobedience of any such process, every such process shall be deemed to be a processissued by the District Judge. (4) Every authorised inquiring authority making any departmental inquiry under this Act shall bedeemed to be a civil court for the purposes of sections 480 and 482 of the Code of CriminalProcedure, 1898 (5 of 1898).