Air Force Act, 1950 - Regulations for the Air Force – Misconduct – Measure of determining adequate punishment for infractions – Balance and proportion that needs to be maintained between an infraction and its punishment will always be at the core of good governance – Compensation for suffering unnecessary and long-drawn litigation: Held: When the institutions that we build grow beyond proportion, officers act mechanically and many a times helplessly, ignore the simple and readily available remedies that are available in our normal lives – An incident like this would have ended if a senior officer had at the right time intervened and resolved the issue by taking into account the emotional aspect of the dispute – Perhaps a simple apology by respondent No. 7 would have gone a long way, but that did not happen – One is aware of how insignificant the monetary value of loss of dignity could be, but legal remedies that they are, enable this Court to settle it only as a measure, a token of concern and in recognition of a citizen’s identity and dignity – Having considered the facts and circumstances of the case and having noted the specific and clear findings of the Tribunal, the respondents are directed to pay an amount of Rs. 1 lakh to the appellant towards compensation for having suffered an unnecessary and a long-drawn litigation that was foisted on him. [Paras 11 and 12]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Himanshu Rai, Hony. Associate Editor (Verified by: Kanu Agrawal, Adv.). Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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