Telangana High Court Upholds Termination Of CRPF Personnel Citing His Mental Condition

Telangana High Court has upheld the termination of a CRPF personnel on ground of his mental condition, as valid on account of the taxing nature of the job. It also rejected his claim for financial and medical assistance from CRPF risk management fund.

Justice Nagesh Bheemapaka observed,

“CRPF is known for its professionalism, discipline and commitment in maintaining peace and security of the nation... In an organisation like CRPF, a member with such mental condition cannot be expected to perform his duties with utmost commitment and discipline. Hence, without any hesitation, this Court is in full agreement with what been by the 4th respondent (the Commandant, CRPF battalion).”

The terminated personnel was represented by his father. Their counsel averred that the Respondents without giving one-month prior notice as stipulated in Rule 16 of the CRPF Rules, 1955 and Rule 5(1)(b) of the Central Service (Temporary Service) Rules, 1965 illegally terminated the service of the petitioner.

The Petitioner Counsel also contended that a comprehensive medical test was conducted on the petitioner before enrolling him in the force, so it could be ruled out that the petitioner was already suffering when he joined. Furthermore, it was stated that the doctors did not deem the petitioner unfit for service and prayed to set aside the termination order.

The Deputy Solicitor General on behalf of the Centre contended that soon after the petitioner was appointed, in April 2006, he started developing mental health issues, which kept getting progressively worse over time. Further, throughout the course of his employment with CRPF, his medical expenditure was borne by the government, and the petitioner was frequently in and out of medical assistance centers.

The Dy. Solicitor further argued that when the petitioner’s mental health progressed into ‘acute psychosis and of medical category -S 5D’ the Medical Board held him ‘no longer fit to continue in service’ following which, a decision was taken to terminate the petitioner without assigning reasons.

The Bench took strict note of the fact that contradictory to the claim of the petitioners, the termination notice issued by the respondent included both, one month notice and pay in accordance with the rules. Adding to that all the medical expenditures of the petitioner from 2006-2009 were borne by the respondent authorities and it would be unjust to direct the respondents to incur the medical expenses of the petitioner even after his termination, for no fault of their own.

Justice Bheemapaka observed, “it is appropriate to note precisely the aims and objectives of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). It is India’s largest paramilitary Force. It performs a wide range of duties, to name a few law enforcement, counterterrorism operations, VIP security, etcetera. CRPF personnel are being deployed all over India and they participate in various operations and peace-keeping missions in the country.”

The Bench noted that the discharge summary of the petitioner shows that he has been suffering from bipolar affective disorder, psychosis C Epiphora, and depression prior to his termination.

“In view of foregoing discussion, this Court does not find any merit in the Writ Petition and the same is liable to be dismissed.”

Counsel for petitioner: Narinder Pal Singh

Counsel for respondent: Gadi Praveen Kumar (Deputy Solicitor general of India)

Case Title: Sailanda Malleswar Rao Vs. The Government of India

Case no.: WP 38233 of 2012

Date: 05.09.2023

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