Removal From Service For Submitting Forged Marksheet Disproportionate For Constable With Unblemished Record Of 38 Yrs: Rajasthan High Court

Rajasthan High Court set aside the punishment of removal from service against a constable (“Petitioner”) who was charged for submitted a forged marksheet at the time of entering the service, ruling that given the unblemished record of 38 years of service of the Petitioner, and the nature of the misconduct, the punishment was disproportionate and excessive.

The bench of Justice Vinit Kumar Mathur was hearing a writ petition filed by the Petitioner against the order of the Superintendent of Police, Anti-Corruption Board (“ACB”) wherein the Petitioner was imposed with the penalty of removal from service and recovery of salary & allowances which were paid to him after the actual date of superannuation.

The Petitioner was appointed as constable in 1982 and in 2013, he was served with a charge sheet with allegation of submitting forged marksheet while entering the service, and subsequently the challenged punishment was imposed in 2020.

It was argued on behalf of the Petitioner that the punishment awarded to the Petitioner was disproportionate to the misconduct committed by him. It was submitted that the Petitioner was working at the lowest post in the department and in the entire service career he was not served with any punishment. It was prayed that his punishment be reasonably reduced on account of unblemished service record.

The Court aligned with the arguments presented on behalf of the Petitioner and highlighted that the Petitioner had served the department with utmost zeal for such a long time. Hence, it was opined that the punishment awarded to him was disproportionate, excessive and not commensurate with the misconduct committed by him.

In this background, the Court set aside the order of the punishment to the extent of removing the Petitioner from service while retaining the other part of the punishment as per which the Petitioner was directed to deposit the entire amount of salary and allowances after the actual date of superannuation in the Government treasury.

Accordingly, the Petitioner was opined to be entitled for all other service benefits and the writ petition was disposed of.

Title: Prithvi Raj v the State of Rajasthan & Ors.

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Raj) 359

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