Dear friends,

For a domestic inquiry, can an outsider be appointed as inquiry officer?

Regards,

Janaki 

Dear Janaki,

Yes, there are instances where a person not on the compay payroll has been appointed to conduct internal and/or domestic inquiry especially in respect of serious and/or grave acts of misconduct.

It needs to be kept in mind that such internal and/or domestic Inquiries are commenced, conducted & concluded in accordance with the principles of natural justice keeping in mind the procedures laid down by the Apex Court in our country.

Regards,

Kaushik

The first rule is that almost all firms have Disciplinary & Appleal Rules (DAR). Therefore the provisions of DAR have to be referred to with regard to suspension, issue of charge sheet, conduct of inquiry, appointment of IO and PO (Presenting Officer). The general rule is that an IO is appointed from within the company itself. However there is no bar to appoint an outside advocate as an I.O. But in that case a detailed appraisal of the company's working procedure will have to be explained to the Advocate I.O. The question of bias in fact is not related to the position of the inhouse or outside I.O. but it is a subjective matter and will not be eliminated by appointment of an outsider authority. The issue of bias is a long and complex matter and can be addressed according to merits and question of bias in each case.