MAHARASHTRA DEPARTMENTAL INQUIRIES (ENFORCEMENT OF ATTENDANCE OF WITNESSES AND PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS) ACT, 1986

MAHARASHTRA ACT NO. XXIX OF 1986

An Act to provide for the enforcement of attendance of witnesses and production of documents in departmental inquiries and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto

WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the enforce­ment of attendance of witnesses and production of documents in departmental inquiries and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto ; It is hereby enacted in the Thirty-seventh Year of the Republic of India as follows:—

SECTION 01: SHORT TITLE AND EXTENT

(1)   This   Act   may   be called the Maharashtra Departmental Inquiries (Enforcement of Attendance of Witnesses   and   Production of Documents) Act, 1986.

(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Maha­rashtra.

SECTION 02: DEPARTMENTAL INQUIRIES TO WHICH ACT SHALL APPLY

The provisions of this Act shall apply to every departmental inquiry made in relation to-

(a) persons appointed to public services or posts in connection with the affairs of the State of Maharashtra ;

(b) persons who, having been   appointed to   any public service or post in connection   with  the  affairs   of the State of Maharashtra, are in service or pay of—

(i) any local authority in the State of Maha­rashtra ;

(ii) any corporation other than a local authority) established by or under any law for the time being in force and owned or controlled by the State Government;

(iii) any Government company with the mean­ing of section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956, in which not less than fifty-one per cent of the paid-up share capital is held by the State Government or any company which is a sub­sidiary of such Government company;

(iv) any society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, in its application to the State of Maharashtra, which is subject to the control of the State Government.

SECTION 03: IN THIS ACT, UNLESS THE CONTEXT OTHER­WISE REQUIRES: -

(a) "departmental  inquiry"   means   an   inquiry held under and in accordance with : -

(i)   any law made by the State   Legislature or any rule made thereunder ; or

(ii)   any rule made under the proviso to Article 309, or continued under   Article   313 of the   Constitution 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 State  Government   or   by   any officer or authority subordinate to that Government to hold a departmental inquiry and includes any officer or  authority who is empowered by or under any  law or rule for  the time being in force to hold such inquiry ;

(c) "lack    of  integrity"   includes bribery or corruption, and mala fide act of omission or commission;

(d) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act.

SECTION 04: AUTHORISATION OF INQUIRING AUTHORITY TO EXERCISE POWER SPECIFIED IN SECTION 5

Where in any departmental inquiry, it is necessary to summon as witness, or call for any document from, any person or a class or category of persons, the Inquiring Authority may exercise the power specified in section 5 in relation to any such person or a person within such class or category, at any stage of the departmental inquiry, if he is authorised, by order in writing in this behalf, by such officer not below the rank of a Secretary to Govern­ment as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, designate ; and different such officers may be designated for different class or classes of departmental inquiries or for different local areas of the State.

SECTION 05: POWER OF AUTHORISE INQUIRING AUTHORITY TO ENFORCE ATTENDANCE OF WITNESSES AND PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS:—

(1)Every Inquiring Authority authorised under section 4 (herein­after referred to as "the authorised Inquiring Authority") shall have the same powers as are vested in a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, while trying a suit, 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 or other material which is producible as evidence ;

(c) receiving evidence on affidavits ;

(d) requisitioning of  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 prescribed.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) the authorised Inquiring Authority shall not be entitled:—

(i) to compel the Lokayukta or Upa-Lokayukta or any member of their staff to appear before him to give any evidence relating to any information obtained by them in the course of, or for the purposes of, any investigation under the Maharashtra Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayuktas Act, 1971, or to produce the evidence recorded or collected by them in connection with such information;

(ii) to 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 or any other corresponding new bank constituted under section 3 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act,   1970, or the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1980:-

(a)    to produce any   books  of account   or other documents which the Reserve Bank of India,  the State Bank of India, the subsidiary bank 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 records of the proceedings of the departmental inquiry; or

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

(iii) to compel such officer or authority as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify, to appear before him to give any evidence relating to any information obtained by it in the course of or for the purposes of any of the duties or functions of such authority under any law for the time being in force, which under such a law is required to be treated as confidential, or to produce the evidence recorded or collected by it in connec­tion with such information.

(3) Without prejudice to the relevant provisions of Order V and Order XVI of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 regarding service of summons, every summons to witness to be served by the authorised Inquiring Authority upon any person shall be deemed to be served—

(a) where a person to be   served  is a   company, the service is effected in   accordance   with the   provisions of section 51 of the Companies Act, 1956 ;

(b) where the person to be served is a firm, if the summons is addressed to the firm   at its  principal   place   of business, identifying it by the name and style under which its business is carried on, and is either—

(i) sent under a certificate of  posting  or   by registered post; or

(ii) left at the said place of business; and the summons so served shall be deemed to be served on each partner ;

(c) where the person to   be served   is a statutory public body or a corporation or a society   or  other  body, if the summons is addressed to the Secretary, Treasurer or other head officer of that   body,   corporation   or   society   at   its principal office, and is either —

(i)   sent under a certificate   of  posting   or  by registered post ; or

(ii)   left at that office ;

(d)    in any other case, if the summons is addressed to the person to be served and—

(i)   is given or tendered to him ; or

(ii) if such person cannot be found, is affixed on some conspicuous part of his last known place of residence or business; or

(iii) is sent under a certificate of posting or by registered post to that parson.

(4)    Any process issued  by an   authorised   Inquiring Authority for the   attendance   of any   witness   or   for   the production of any   documents   may,   if found   necessary  be served and executed in   Greater Bombay through the   Chief Judge,   Court   of  Small   Causes,   Bombay and   elsewhere, through the District   Judge within the  local  limits 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 purposes of taking any action for the disobedience of any such process, every such process shall   be deemed  to  be process issued by the Chief Judge, Court of  Small   Causes, Bombay, or as the case may be, the District Judge.

(5)    Every authorised Inquiring Authority making any departmental inquiry shall be deemed to be a Civil Court for the purposes of sections 345 and 346 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973.

(6) Any proceeding before every authorised Inquiring Authority making any departmental inquiry shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of section 193 of the Indian Penal Code.

SECTION 06: TERRITORIAL LIMITS IN WHICH   POWERS   SPECIFIED IN SECTION 5 MAY FEE EXERCISED

For the purpose of exercising the powers specified in section 5, the   territorial   jurisdiction of every authorised Inquiring Authority   shall extend to   the whole of the State of Maharashtra.

SECTION 07: POWER TO MAKE RULES

(1)   The State Government may, by notification in   Official Gazette,  make   rules for the purposes of giving effect to the provisions of this Act.    Such rules may provide for the levy of fees for any of the purposes of this Act and for the refund of any   such fees or   any part thereof.

(2) All rules made under this Act shall be   subject to the condition of previous publication, except when such rules are made for the first time.

(3) Every rule made under this section shall   be  laid, as soon as may be, after it is made, before each House of the State Legislature, while it is in  session   for a total  period of thirty days, which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the   expiry of the session immediately   following the session or the   successive sessions aforesaid, both   Houses agree in making any modi­fication in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, and notify such decision in the Official Gazette, the rule shall from the date of publication of such notification have effect only in such   modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be, so, however, that any such   modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity  of any­thing previously done or omitted to be done under that rule.