Domestic Inquiries: Can We Combine Them for Multiple People and What Are the Risks?

Dear Seniors, can the domestic inquiries be clubbed together for two or more persons? What would be the disadvantages of doing so? Is there any section that prohibits clubbing the inquiries together?

Thanks in anticipation.

Please do not combine the domestic enquiry. The enquiry should be conducted based only on the charge sheet. If you include two or more persons in the domestic enquiry, it may lead to misbehavior during the enquiry, and they may manipulate the charge sheet or reasons against the management with the support of others.

Try to conduct the enquiry individually. If it is not possible, ask them to serve as observers and do not allow them to speak unnecessarily.

Regards,
Alphonse
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

You can very well club the domestic inquiry for two or more charge-sheeted workmen if the charges leveled against them are similar in nature. I practically did that long back without any legal hassle.

Regards,
VP Jain

You can very well club the Domestic Enquiry of two or more workers provided they are charge-sheeted on similar charges. In my previous organization, I charge-sheeted 14 workers in one Domestic Enquiry (it was a case of a strike in our plant). They were charge-sheeted for threatening seniors, disobedience, misbehavior, and sabotage to the company's property.

We conducted the Domestic Enquiry smoothly, and later we terminated all these workers.

Regards,
Avinash K.

There is no specific bar to conducting a common inquiry. However, you have to issue a separate charge sheet to each employee according to their individual role in the misconduct. Each worker's actions may differ. In the inquiry, facts emerge at a later stage, which is why it is called a fact-finding inquiry. You cannot proceed with a prejudiced mind. The recording of evidence and findings becomes very difficult. A common inquiry may be vitiated in court on various grounds. Considering all this, it is advisable to conduct separate inquiries.

Best regards,
Sameer Paranjape, Advocate
(Labour Law Consultant) Pune,
[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

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I am of the view that in cases where there are more than two chargesheeted employees, it would be better to conduct separate inquiries. If you do not have Inquiry Officers, you can hire the services of an outside expert. It is rightly pointed out above that they would create obstructions in the inquiry proceedings, and the E.O. will face a tough time managing them instead of focusing on the proceedings.

Legally, there is no bar to clubbing all the chargesheeted employees and conducting en masse inquiry proceedings. Other chargesheeted employees can always take the plea in a court of law that they were not given a reasonable opportunity to defend themselves. This appears to be a legally valid ground for challenging the inquiry proceedings before the court.

Most EOs are not trained in the conduct of inquiries. There should be a pool of EOs properly educated on all aspects of the inquiry proceedings. Rarely do some organizations do that. The HR department should properly brief the EO before assigning this duty and keep track of the proceedings from time to time so that, in the end, there are no loopholes left in the conducted inquiry.

It would be better if a manual is prepared for the conduct of inquiry proceedings. This should be kept secret and limited for the use of the EO only.

There is no bar under law or as per the principles of natural justice to conduct a common inquiry for two or more charge-sheeted employees, provided the allegations are the same, the misconduct is the same, and the evidence on which the allegations are based is the same. However, the employees must be served separate charge sheets. Such common inquiries need to be conducted by people well-versed in conducting such inquiries. Failing to do so may cause the proceedings to lose track and discipline, leading to confusion that could work to the advantage of the delinquent employees.

For example, assuming that the charge-sheeted employees engage different defense representatives and the management witnesses are cross-examined by these different representatives from different angles, it may give rise to different versions of the same piece of evidence. Thus, common inquiries need to be meticulously conducted. Therefore, it is advisable to conduct inquiries separately.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Mumbai

Dear Prashant,

A lot of seniors have given their advice; however, here are my two cents.

Focus on the Incident, Not the Person

Your confusion is because your focus is on persons. Shift your focus to the incident. We order a domestic enquiry to investigate the incident. Absence from work, abuse to the superiors, theft of company property, etc., all these are incidents that merit investigation.

Conducting the Enquiry

In the course of the enquiry, the Enquiry Officer (EO) should chart out the sequence of events and go on investigating. As and when required, the EO can summon required employees to depose before the enquiry and record their evidence. While investigating, focus should be on:

- What happened?
- Where it happened.
- When it happened?
- Who was involved in the incident? Who were the internal parties? Who were the external parties? Was there any agent provocateur?
- Was there injury to any person?
- Was there damage to any company property?
- Did the incident tarnish the image of the company?
- Was there any transgression of laid-down rules, regulations, SOPs, etc.?

Ok...

Dinesh V Divekar

The variety of responses mentioned in this post makes it very interesting. I have the following observations to make:

1. First and foremost, the Domestic Enquiry is not a fact-finding process, and the EO cannot just call anyone to record their statements. A Domestic Enquiry is instituted only after all facts relevant to the incidence of misconduct are collected.

2. If more than one employee is involved in an incidence of misconduct, it is best to institute separate enquiries against each of the concerned workers. Yes, separate Charge Sheets will be issued to each of the concerned workers. However, there is no bar to holding a common DE. This requires meticulous planning, and only a person who is extremely skilled in conducting DE should be entrusted with the job.

Best Wishes,
Vasant Nair

To maintain the confidentiality of the inquiry, it will normally be conducted separately. However, if the offense is committed by a team, then it will be conducted collectively. In this case, the accused and the witnesses will be serially numbered, and examination and interrogation must be recorded separately. While recording the statement of one accused/witness, the others should not be present in the room. Finally, the inquiring officer will provide their findings and recommendations, which will then be forwarded to the management for approval.