7 Yrs After His Death, Punjab & Haryana High Court Orders 'Deemed Reinstatement' Of Police Constable Dismissed From Service Over False FIR

Observing that he was ‘falsely implicated', the Punjab & Haryana High Court has ordered 'deemed reinstatement' of a Police constable with full back wages and other consequential benefits, seven years after his death.

The bench of Justice Gurvinder Singh Gill said, “Having regard to the nature of the case i.e. the petitioner's father having been falsely implicated for dubious and motivated reasons, the respondents are directed to reinstate the petitioner's father with full backwages and to extend other consequential benefits flowing from such reinstatement to the family within a period of 4 months from today.”

The constable was terminated from service in 2005 on account of an FIR lodged under Sections 376-A, G, 342, 323, 506, 120-B IPC on the allegations that he was entrusted with a duty of escorting two accused smugglers to a hospital, However, he intentionally helped them to go out of the hospital to commit gang rape.

The constable died in 2016 while battling his termination. Court was hearing the plea filed by his son.

In 2009, the Sessions Court convicted him and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment of 10 years. The High Court allowed his appeal and acquitted. State's appeal against his acquittal before the Supreme Court was dismissed “in limine” following his demise.

Subsequently, the deceased constable's widow approached the state authorities for his reinstatement but, in vain. Now, his son filed an application against the dismissal of the plea for reinstatement.

Petitioner's counsel Dhiraj Chawla submitted that the late Constable was falsely implicated and the High Court while acquitting him has observed that he was falsely implicated by a senior police officer, who wanted to grab a property in Mohali.

Perusing the decision of High Court which acquitted the Constable, the Court said, that the petitioner was falsely implicated. "It goes without saying that the saying that petitioner's father was dismissed from service on account of no fault on his part and all reasons which had weighed at that time were not justified and had also been found to be falsely created," added the Court.

Consequently, the plea was allowed and the order dismissing his wife's petition for reinstatement was set aside.

"Petitioner's father is deemed to have been reinstated into service...As far as the prayer of the petitioner for grant of compassionate appointment is concerned, the respondents shall be at liberty to take an independent decision in the matter without being influenced in any manner by the observations made above and in the light of the prevalent policies including the economic condition of the family at that time," added the Court.

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (PH) 162