Dear Prabhakar,
When there is sufficient evidence of involvement of an employee in the misconduct, a domestic enquiry is ordered. Now question arises when the enquiry was ordered and how long has it been going on? Is it being dragged needlessly. If yes, then it is not the fault of the employee as such.
Appraisal is for specific cycle. It could be for quarter or half year or for an year. How much portion of the appraisal cycle merges with the enquiry period? I recommend you doing appraisal for the period that precedes the enquiry. Nevertheless, this is also a little flawed system. Any enquiry should be completed as expeditiously as possible.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar