Can an employee be punished twice for the same offence?

No, said the Chennai bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on Wednesday quashing an order of the ministry of communications and IT to initiate fresh proceedings against a retired assistant postmaster who had undergone punishment for his supervisory lapses. he was involved in a fraud to the tune of Rs 17.46 lakh at the Karur head post office. Fresh proceedings were initiated according to the rules and there was no question of "double jeopardy." Further, it was an exceptional case and had to be  
The bench comprising judicial member B Venkateshwara Rao and administrative member P Prabhakaran said, "Once the punishment imposed is undergone, no one can direct a fresh inquiry in the same set of charges." 
The bench quashed the order for fresh proceedings and directed the department to pay all retrial benefits to Muthukannu.
CLICK HERE TO SEE DETAILS