New Delhi : The Supreme Court has ruled in favour of a constable, who hails from a small village in UP and whose appointment was cancelled in 2005 over non-disclosure of a criminal case in the verification form, after noting police inquiry before joining the service found that his character and reputation were good and the court can’t be oblivious to ground realities in a diverse country.
A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and K V Vishwanathan said: “is it a hard and fast and a cut and dried rule that, in all circumstances, non-disclosure of a criminal case (in which the candidate is acquitted) in the verification form is fatal for the candidate’s employment? We think not and it ought not to be so too”.
The apex court set aside the Allahabad High Court's judgments and allowed an appeal filed by Ravindra Kumar. Kumar’s appointment as constable, in UP Provincial Armed Constabulary, was cancelled in 2005 over non-disclosure of a criminal case in the verification form.
Justice Viswanathan, who authored the judgment on behalf of the bench, said: “Broad-brushing every non-disclosure as a disqualification, will be unjust and the same will tantamount to being completely oblivious to the ground realities obtaining in this great, vast and diverse country”.
He said each case will depend on the facts and circumstances that prevail thereon, and the court will have to take a holistic view, based on objective criteria, with the available precedents serving as a guide. “In our opinion on the peculiar facts of the case, we do not think it can be deemed fatal for the appellant….. It can never be a one size fits all scenario”, emphasized the bench.
The bench noted that the appellant got acquitted in the case even before filling up the verification form. “The SHO certified the character of the candidate as excellent and that he was eligible to do Government Service under the State Government. The Superintendent of Police, in his letter to the Commandant, endorsed the report and reiterated that the character of the candidate was excellent”, noted the bench, regarding police inquiry before joining the service.
The apex court said the candidate while filling up the verification form must have been in a deep dilemma as there was an imminent prospect of losing his employment.
The apex court noted that the appellant hails from the small village Bagapar, police station Gauri Bazar, District Deoria, U.P., and on the date of the application, there was no criminal case pending and there was no suppression in the application form. “We find from the verification documents fairly and candidly made available by the learned Additional Advocate General, that the verification report after noticing the criminal case and the subsequent acquittal stated that his character was good, that no complaints were found against him and that his general reputation was good”, said the bench.
The apex court directed the authorities to appoint Kumar with all consequential benefits but made it clear that he would not get salary for the period to which he did not serve. “We direct that the appellant will be entitled for all notional benefits, including pay, seniority and other consequential benefits. Necessary orders shall be passed within a period of four weeks from today”, said the bench, in the judgment delivered on February 22.
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