P.V. MAHADEVAN vs M.D., TAMIL NADU HOUSING BOARD

The Supreme Court upheld the principle that inordinate delay in initiating disciplinary proceedings can lead to quashing of the charge memo, as established in State of Madhya Pradesh v. Bani Singh [1990] Supp. SCC 738 and State of A.P. v. N. Radhakrishnan [1998] 4 SCC 154. The Court found that the Tamil Nadu Housing Board failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the 10-year delay in issuing the charge memo against the appellant, a Superintending Engineer, and thus ruled in favor of the appellant, quashing the charge memo and related proceedings.