Section 495 · Paragraph 479. Punishing powers of officers

(a) The Governor reserves the power to punish all officers under his direction.
(b) The Inspector General may punish all officers of the rank of Inspector and below.
(c) The Deputy Inspector General may punish all officers of the rank of Inspector and below, whether temporarily or permanently subordinate to him.
(d) The Superintendent of Police may punish, except by dismissal or removal, any temporary or permanent Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors subordinate to him. Any case in which he proposes to dismiss or remove an Inspector or Sub-Inspector of any branch of the Force should be forwarded to the Deputy Inspector General of Police in accordance with the instructions contained in sub-paragraph 8 of paragraph 490 below.
(e) The Superintendent may punish all Head Constables, temporary and permanent, subordinate to him.
(f) Subject to the provisions of paragraph 491, (a) all permanent Assistant Superintendents of Police who have completed four years' service and all permanent Deputy Superintendents of Police who have completed the first efficiency bar in the pay scale applicable to them, and (2) all other Assistant Superintendents of Police and Deputy Superintendents of Police specially authorised by the Deputy Inspector General of Police, in so far as they relate to his range, may exercise all the powers of a Superintendent of Police, except the powers of an Inspector of Police relating to punishment and the powers under Fundamental Rules 24 and 25 as mentioned in sub-paragraphs (d) and (e) of this paragraph.
(g) The Reserve Inspector may impose a punishment of exercise and strenuous duty for a maximum period of three days on a constable posted to the lines, provided that his orders shall be transmitted to the Superintendent of Police for confirmation within twenty-four hours from the Reserve Lines office. Note
(1) Powers of the Superintendent of Police - Paragraph 479 (c) authorizes the Superintendent of Police to punish a Head Constable. Subparagraph (e) defines the Superintendent of Police as the head of the police, and the Superintendent of Police (City) or Superintendent of Police (Rural) do not fall within that category. The conferment of powers does not confer an equivalent rank, and Article 311 allows only an officer equivalent to or superior to the Head Constable to inflict the punishment of dismissal. The said punishment imposed by the Superintendent of Police (City) is in violation of Article 311.
(2) When the disciplinary authority does not agree with the finding - When the inquiring officer recommended only reduction in grade, the Superintendent of Police disagreed and awarded the maximum punishment, in Ramnath Singh vs. State it was held that he had no jurisdiction to impose punishment in complete disregard of the recommendation of the Deputy Superintendent, but this view was reversed in Special Appeal No. 175/64 State vs. Ramnath Singh, decided on 23-10-64 and it was held that there was no ground in the Police Regulations to justify the said decision and it was held that when the Superintendent of Police gave an opportunity by issuing a notice to show cause under Article 311, it was within his jurisdiction to dismiss the employee. From dismissal flows removal from service and a bar to re-enter the service of the State. The absence of a clear mention of removal from service as a punishment does not deprive the officer of the power to pass an order of dismissal, rather than passing an order as serious as dismissal.
(3) Powers of Superintendents of Police and Officers of Other Branches - By Notification No. 2380/8-7-217/72, dated 17-7-73, Home (P. 1), the Governor designated all Superintendents of Police equivalent to the rank of District Superintendent of Police, both at the CBI Headquarters and in its other branches, such as the Crime Branch, Administrative Branch, Economic Intelligence and Research Branch, Scientific Branch, and Special Investigation Branch (Co-operative Cell), to perform all the duties of a District Superintendent of Police within their official jurisdiction. This was further refined by Notification No. 1795-7-273-72, dated 4-7-74. The power to investigate offences under Sections 161, 165 or 165-A, 80 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 5 of the PC Act without obtaining orders from a Magistrate First Class has been given to the Inspector of the Uttar Pradesh Vigilance Establishment vide Notification No. 1796/Thirty-Nine-VGL-100/1965, dated 16-9-65.
(4) Performance of duties of Superintendent of Police - The State Government has authorized the Additional Superintendent of Police, Superintendent of Police, City and Rural, by Notification No. 1801/VIII-E-1070/62, dated 20-4-68, to perform all the duties of the District Superintendent of Police in their respective jurisdictions, but this does not make them the appointing authority of constables nor does it give them the power to remove, dismiss or demote them. AIR 1970 SC 122 held that there was no substantial difference between a Superintendent of Police and a District Superintendent of Police, and in State v. Laxminarayan, it was clarified that "District Superintendent of Police" meant that the administration of the police was vested in him, but did not include those who performed some or all of the duties of a District Superintendent of Police. When the Superintendent of Police, City, assumed the powers of Superintendent of Police and dismissed a Head Constable, this order was deemed void because he did not hold the rank of Superintendent of Police. The Government further clarified this in Order No. 2720/VIII-7-89/79, dated 26-9-79. (For all other service orders, see the "Manual of Government Orders" of this publication).
(5) Powers and Jurisdiction - This paragraph of the Police Regulations explains the Governor's authority to impose penalties on the Inspector General of Police and other officers. The powers conferred on the Inspector General of Police and other officers by Section 7 of the Police Act are not transferred by the State, but are separate legal powers that neither limit nor substitute the State's powers.
The power granted by the Deputy Inspector General of Police to conduct an investigation under Section 7 terminates upon the Deputy Superintendent's transfer outside that jurisdiction.
When the jurisdiction of the Deputy Superintendent of Police has not been challenged before any subordinate officer in a departmental proceeding, such objection cannot be raised in a petition. When his competence and jurisdiction have not been challenged during the proceedings despite having the opportunity, the order of dismissal cannot be challenged on this ground in a petition.