Penalty of reduction to a post never held is impermissible under service rules; guilt upheld, punishment quashed.

Rule 8(v) of the Karnataka Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules did not permit reduction of a directly recruited employee to a lower post never held in his service career. The disciplinary finding of guilt was left undisturbed, but the penalty was held incompetent because the rule scheme did not authorise such a reduction and it would lead to an unreasonable result. If the charges justified a stronger consequence, the permissible course was dismissal or removal from service, not transfer to an unoccupied lower post. The reduction to Daftarband-Attender was quashed and the matter was sent back for reconsideration of punishment.

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Issues: Whether a directly recruited employee could be reduced from the post held by him to a lower post which he had never occupied, under Rule 8(v) of the Karnataka Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1957.

Analysis: The finding of guilt recorded in the disciplinary proceedings was not interfered with. The only substantive question was the legality of the penalty. Rule 8(v) of the Karnataka Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1957 did not authorise reducing a directly recruited employee to a lower post that was never part of his service career. Such a penalty was held to be outside the scheme of the rules and would produce an unreasonable result. The proper course, if the charges warranted a harsher consequence, was dismissal or removal from service, not reduction to a post never held.

Conclusion: The penalty of reduction to the post of Daftarband-Attender was without competence and was quashed, while the finding of guilt was affirmed and the matter was remitted for reconsideration of the appropriate punishment.

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