Service Law – Dismissal – Respondent joined service as Constable – Dismissal from service for misconduct on charge of drunkenness and misbehavior with public – Writ petition filed by the respondent – Relegated to the remedy of statutory appeal – Appeal filed by the respondent before Inspector General of Police, which was dismissed – Revision – Dismissed by the Additional Director General of Police – Writ petition thereagainst filed by the respondent – Dismissed by Single Judge – Division Bench of the High Court allowed the appeal by the respondent directing that the dismissal be converted to compulsory retirement – Held: Having regard to the seriousness of the charge of misconduct and the fact that the respondent was a member of the police service, no justification for the High Court to interfere with the order of dismissal – Single Judge justified in dismissing the writ petition – Order of the Single Judge did not suffer from any error of fact or law – Order of the Division Bench set aside.
Respondent joined the police service as Constable. He was dismissed from the service for misconduct on charge of drunkenness and misbehavior with public. Writ petition filed by the respondent. High Court relegated him to the remedy of statutory appeal. Appeal filed by the respondent before the Inspector General of Police, was dismissed. Revision was dismissed by the Additional Director General of Police. Writ petition filed by the respondent challenging the said order, was dismissed by Single Judge of the High Court. Division Bench allowed the appeal by the respondent, directing that the dismissal of the respondent be converted to compulsory retirement. Hence, the present appeal.
Allowing the appeal, the Court
HELD: 1.1 The charge against the respondent was of a serious act of misconduct involving drunkenness and misbehavior with the public. The fact of intoxication was duly proved in the medical report. Having regard to the seriousness of the charge of misconduct and the fact that the respondent was a member of the police service, no justification is found for the High Court to interfere with the order of dismissal. The single Judge was justified in dismissing the writ petition. The Division Bench erred in allowing the Special Appeal. The order of the Single Judge did not suffer from any error of fact or law. The impugned judgment and order of the Division Bench of the High Court in Special Appeal is set aside, maintaining the order passed by the Single Judge dismissing the writ petition. [Paras 7, 8] [497-F-H; 498-A-B]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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