Some Query Related Charge Sheet & Appointment Of Presenting Officer

Respected all,
As per my understanding, Competent person for issuing Charge Sheet can not perform a role of a Presenting Officer.
Now if I am a head of one manufacturing Unit and appointing authority and i m abused by a worker. I do not have any HR person with me. All the people are unionized category.
In this case, Who can issue the Charge Sheet and who can be the Presenting Officer.
kindly give your valuable inputs to enrich my knowledge and resolve the ambiguity.
regards,
Samee Mahajan

A domestic enquiry need not be taken at par with a court proceeding which follows some codes in the Civil Procedure Code or Criminal Procedure Code, as the case may be. All that you have to follow is that the enquiry is conducted following the principles of natural justice. Therefore, there is nothing wrong in issuing a show cause notice by the aggrieved himself. You being the disciplinary authority and himself being the person assaulted, you can issue show cause notice and initiate disciplinary action against the employee. If the reply to the notice is not satisfactory, you can proceed with an enquiry appointing another person, let him be an outsider, as the Enquiry Officer. It is immaterial whether you present your own case or not but what is important is that the charges are to be proved before the Enquiry Officer. Representing the Management, you can take a witness to the incident also. He need not be an officer from HR department. It is wrong to say that a domestic enquiry is the property of HR department. We can hold it even without any HR person. As stated earlier, what is important is that the accused employee should be given adequate opportunity to defend his charges before a decision is taken.

Regards,

Madhu.T.K