In Brief
A civil servant in Jharkhand was dismissed for financial irregularities and forgery following departmental proceedings. He challenged the dismissal arguing the charge-sheet lacked approval from the Chief Minister, and the High Court quashed his dismissal. The Supreme Court allowed the State's appeal, holding that Article 311(1) does not require departmental proceedings to be initiated only by the appointing authority. Where a proposal to initiate proceedings includes a draft charge-sheet and is approved by the competent authority, separate charge-sheet approval is not required unless the applicable rules expressly mandate it. The Court set aside the High Court's judgment and reinstated the dismissal order, though granting the respondent liberty to file an appeal within one month.
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