Section 5 — Provisions relating to disciplinary proceedings.

5. Provisions relating to disciplinary proceedings.- (1) The State Government 
may, by notification, invest any authority or officer authorised by any law or the rules 
made or deemed to have been made under this Act to make an inquiry into the conduct 
of any member of public service with the powers of a civil court while trying a suit under 
the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act 5 of 1908), in respect of the following 
matters, namely :-  

(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him 
on oath;  

(b) requiring the discovery and production of any document ;  

(c) receiving evidence on affidavits ;  

(d) requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office;  

(e) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents;  

(f) any other matter which may be specified in such notification :  



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1[Provided that in respect of any inquiry against the officers and servants of the 
High Court or the Secretariat Staff of the Houses of the Legislature, the powers of the 
State  Government under this sub-section shall be exercised by the Chief Justice of the 
High Court and the Special Board or the Board as the case may be respectively.]1  

1. Inserted by Act 37 of 1991 w.e.f. 10.12.1991.  

1[Provided further]1 that in respect of any inquiry by any authority or officer 
authorised by the High Court or the Chief Justice of the High Court, the power of a civil 
court referred to in this sub-section may, by notification, be invested on such authority or 
officer by the High Court or the Chief Justice, as the case may be:  

1. Substituted by act 37 of 1991 w.e.f. 10.12.1991.  

1[Provided also]1 that notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the 
authorised inquiring authority shall not compel the Reserve Bank of India, the State Bank 
of India, any subsidiary bank as defined in clause (k) of section 2 of the State Bank of 
India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959 (Central Act 38 of 1959) or any corresponding new 
bank constituted under section 3 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of 
Undertakings) Act, 1970 (Central Act 5 of 1970),-  

1. Substituted by act 37 of 1991 w.e.f. 10.12.1991.  

(a) to produce any books of account or other documents which the Reserve Bank 
of India, the State Bank of India; the subsidiary or the corresponding new bank claims to 
be of a confidential nature, or  

(b) to make any such books or documents a part of the record of the proceedings 
of the departmental inquiry, or  

(c) to give inspection of any such books or documents, if produced, by any party 
before it or to any other person.  

(2) (a) Any authority or officer invested with the powers of a civil court under sub-
section (1) shall be deemed to be a civil court and when any offence as is described in 
section 175, section 178, section 179, section 180 or section 228 of the Indian Penal 
Code, 1860 (Central Act 45 of 1860) is committed in the view or presence of the said 
authority or officer, the said authority or officer, may, after recording the facts constituting 
the offence and the statement of the accused as provided for in the Code of Criminal 
Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974), forward the case to a Magistrate having 
jurisdiction to try the same and the Magistrate to whom any such case is forwarded shall 
proceed to hear the complaint against the accused as if the case had been forwarded to 
him under section 346 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ;  

(b) Any proceeding before the said authority or officer shall be deemed to be a 
judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal 
Code, 1860 (Central Act 45 of 1860) ;  

(3) If in any disciplinary proceeding against a member of the public services for 
misconduct or corruption it is proved that such member or any person on his behalf is in 
possession, or has, at any time during the period of office of such member, been in 
possession, for which such member cannot satisfactorily account, of pecuniary 
resources or property disproportionate to his known sources of income then on such 
proof, the disciplinary authority and the inquiring authority, if any, shall presume, unless 
the contrary is proved, that such servant is guilty of such misconduct.  

Explanation.- For the purpose of this sub-section the expression ''corruption'' 
shall have the meaning assigned to the expression ''Criminal misconduct in discharge of 



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official duty'' 1[in sub-section (1) of section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 
(Central Act No. 49 of 1988)]1  or the meaning assigned to the expressions ''taking 
gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act'' and ''obtaining 
valuable thing without consideration'' in sections 161 and 165 respectively of the Indian 
Penal Code.  

1. Substituted  by Act 20 of 2010  w.e.f. 06.05.2010.