No Reason To Continue Criminal Proceedings If Accused Is Exonerated For Same Charges In Disciplinary Proceedings: Delhi High Court

Referring to various decisions of the Supreme Court and the high court Justice Vikas Mahajan said:

“...if an accused has been exonerated and held innocent in the departmental proceedings after the allegations have been found to be unsustainable, then the criminal prosecution premised on the same set of allegations cannot be permitted to continue.The justification for the same is that the standard of proof in criminal cases is 'beyond reasonable doubt' which is far higher than'preponderance of probability', the standard of proof required in disciplinary proceedings. In case the lower threshold could not be met in the disciplinary proceeding, there is no purpose in prosecuting the criminal proceedings where the standard of proof required to establish the guilt is higher.”

The Court was considering the petitioner's plea to quash the FIR against him.

The prosecution alleged that the few people snatched five packets containing manik stones from the complainant. During investigation, one of the accused disclosed that he gave two packets of manik stone to the petitioner who was posted as Beat Constable.

Subsequently, disciplinary proceedings was initiated against the petitioner. The enquiry officer found that the charge framed against the petitioner could not be proved. The disciplinary authority agreed with the conclusion of the enquiry officer in its order and exonerated the petitioner from the charges levelled against him.

However, an FIR was lodged against the accused under Sections 392 (robbery) and 411 (Dishonestly receiving stolen property) of the IPC.

The petitioner contended that since the departmental enquiry exonerated him, the present FIR with identical allegations ought to be quashed.

The High Court referred to various decisions including Ashoo Surendranath Tewari Vs. Deputy Superintendent of Police, EOW, CBI and Anr. (2020), Lokesh Kumar Jain Vs. State of Rajasthan (2013) and P.S. Rajya Vs. State of Bihar (1996), where the criminal proceedings against accused were quashed in view of exoneration in departmental proceedings.

Here, comparing the charges against the petitioner in the departmental proceedings and the criminal proceedings, the High Court noted that they were essentially the same. It also noted that the main prosecution witnesses in the criminal proceedings were examined in the departmental enquiry as well.

The Court observed that the genuineness of the allegations against the petitioner was already tested during the disciplinary proceedings, where he was found innocent. It thus stated that there was no purpose of continuing the criminal proceedings against him.

Therefore, the Court quashed the FIR against the petitioner.

Case title: Ajit Kumar vs. State Nct Of Delhi and Anr (CRL.M.C. 2184/2021 & CRL.M.A. 14709/2021)