LexUNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS versus SHISHU PAL @ SHIV PAL
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[2024] 7 S.C.R. 910 : 2024 INSC 550 Union of India and Others v. Shishu Pal @ Shiv Pal (Civil Appeal No. 7933 of 2024) 23 July 2024 [Hima Kohli* and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, JJ.] Issue for Consideration Appellants, if justified in terminating the services of the respondent on the post of Constable (GD) in the CRPF after conducting a departmental inquiry against him on receiving information that he had deliberately failed to reveal in his Verification Roll that two criminal cases were pending against him. Headnotes† Service law – Appointment – Verification of disclosures made by a candidate to the employer – On facts, suppression of material information, submission of false information in the Verification Roll by the respondent at the time of his appointment to the post of Constable in the CRPF, as regards the registration of the FIR, his detention, he having applied for bail while in judicial custody and being granting bail – Conduct of departmental inquiry, leading to termination of service of the respondent – Challenged to – Order of termination set aside by the High Courts – Correctness: Held: Purpose of seeking the relevant information with respect to the antecedents of a candidate/employee is to enable the employer to ascertain the suitability of the candidate/employee for the subject post – No occasion for the Single Judge to have interfered in the orders passed by the Disciplinary Authority terminating the service of the respondent, duly upheld by the Appellate Authority – Respondent does not deserve any latitude as it has been established beyond doubt that he was all along aware of the FIR registered against him with the Police Station, and the ensuing criminal cases – Also respondent failed to disclose that he had remained in judicial custody and on moving an application, was released on bail – All the said events had occurred well before the respondent had filled up the Verification Roll – He had wilfully withheld material information from the appellants while filling up the Verification Roll – Further * Author [2024] 7 S.C.R. 911 Union of India and Others v. Shishu Pal @ Shiv Pal misconducted himself when the appellants issued him a show- cause notice calling upon him to explain his position and falsely denied the allegations levelled against him in his reply to the notice that ultimately led to initiation of disciplinary proceedings against him – Appellants exercised their discretion as employers in a reasonable manner – Disciplinary proceedings were conducted in a fair manner and taken to their logical conclusion – Only thereafter did the Disciplinary Authority pass an order terminating the services of the respondent which order was upheld by the appellant authority, for just and valid reasons – Thus, the decision of the appellants to terminate the services of the respondent was not unjustified, tainted by any malafides or arbitrariness or too harsh – Impugned judgment passed by the Division Bench of the High Court upholding the judgment passed by the Single Judge quashed and set aside. [Paras 21, 24, 26-28] Case Law Cited Avtar Singh v. Union of India and Others [2016] 7 SCR 445 : (2016) 8 SCC 471; The State of Madhya Pradesh and Others v. Bhupendra Yadav [2023] 14 SCR 438 : (2023) SCC Online SC 1181; Daya Shankar Yadav v. Union of India and Others [2010] 13 SCR 1076 : (2010) 14 SCC 103; Rajasthan Rajya Vidhut Prasaran Nigam Limited and Another v. Anil Kanwaria [2021] 7 SCR 710 : (2021) 10 SCC 136 – referred to. List of Acts Penal Code, 1860; Uttar Pradesh Control of Goondas Act, 1970; CRPF Act, 1949; Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965. List of Keywords Appointment; Verification of disclosures made by a candidate to the employer; Suppression of material information; Submission of false information; Termination of service; Antecedents of a candidate/ employee; Ascertain the suitability of the candidate/employee for the post; Verification Roll; Disciplinary proceedings. Case Arising From CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No.7933 of 2024 From the Judgment and Order dated 07.02.2019 of the Gauhati High Court in WA No. 248 of 2018 912 [2024] 7 S.C.R. Digital Supreme Court Reports Appearances for Parties Nidhi Khanna, Priyanka Das, Nachiketa Joshi, Chitvan Singhal, Akshay Nain, Arvind Kumar Sharma, Siddhartha Sinha, N.C. Zeliang, Ms. Megha Saxena, Aditya Kashyap, Shashvat Pant, Advs. for the Appellants. Brij
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