Come up with mechanism to revisit employee dismissals after acquittal, Punjab and Haryana High Court tells DGP, CS
Saurabh Malik
Chandigarh, January 6
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked the state Director-General of Police (DGP) and the Chief Secretary (CS) to come out with a mechanism for revisiting the entire process of an employee’s dismissal from service, or any other punitive action, following his acquittal in a criminal trial.
The ruling by Justice Jagmohan Bansal of the high court came on a petition filed by an employee for staying departmental proceedings against him. His stand in the matter was that an FIR was registered against him on July 21, 2023, under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the IPC at the Vigilance Bureau police station in Ludhiana.
Departmental proceedings were also initiated on the same set of allegations. The petitioner contended that revealing evidence during the departmental proceedings would hamper his defence before the trial court.
“The state counsel, on the other hand, submitted that a few witnesses were common in departmental and criminal proceedings. The departmental proceedings regarding the common witnesses would be deferred but permission might be accorded to proceed with respect to the other witnesses,” he said.
Justice Bansal disposed of the plea after noticing that the counsel for the petitioner was agreeing to the proposed deferment of departmental proceedings regarding common witnesses. Before parting with the judgment, the bench asserted that the court had noticed that a number of writ petitions with the same prayer were pending. As per proviso to Rule 16.2 and 16.3 of the Punjab Police Rules, departmental proceedings turned into futile exercise, if an employee was acquitted in the criminal trial and acquittal was not covered by any of the exceptions carved out.
