The Rajasthan High Court has provided relief to a constable who was dismissed from service 28 years ago for allegedly forging documents regarding his age at the time of his appointment.

According to the competent authority, the petitioner could not have been under 25 years old at the time of his appointment, as required by the applicable rules, because he was married with three children. Consequently, he was dismissed from service in 1996.4

The bench headed by Justice Ganesh Ram Meena found this reasoning unacceptable, stating that such situation was a common outcome of child marriages, prevalent at the time. It was alleged that at the time of his appointment, the petitioner submitted a forged transfer certificate that reduced his actual age to meet the appointment requirements. Following an inquiry, he was dismissed from service. His appeal against this decision was also rejected by the appellate authority. The petitioner challenged both orders before the Court.

The petitioner argued that alongside the inquiry, a criminal case was also filed against him for the mentioned allegations, from which he was acquitted by the appellate court. The petitioner's counsel contended that in light of this acquittal in the criminal proceedings, the dismissal imposed by the disciplinary authority was not justified.

In its ruling, the Court noted that the disciplinary authority had not adequately discussed the evidence proving the allegations of forged documents against the petitioner when issuing the dismissal order. Therefore, the Court set aside the challenged orders and instructed the government to provide the petitioner with all consequential benefits and retirement benefits he would have received if he had remained in service until the present date.

Title: Shri Sunder Pal v State of Rajasthan & Ors.