Punjab and Haryana HC orders to reinstate judicial officer who was dismissed over ‘misconduct’ as a lawyer

A part seat of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sudhir Singh, directed the respondents to upgrade the ACR of the petitioner for the twelvemonth 2015-16, and to re-instate him successful work with contiguous effect with each consequential benefits.

It was alleged that the petitioner, portion practicing arsenic a lawyer, successful connivance with a pistillate had got registered a mendacious FIR successful 2012 for rape against a person. He was past fixed ‘B+ Good’ grading successful the ACR for the twelvemonth 2014-15 and successful the integrity column, it was mentioned: ‘good, taxable to the result of the pending complaint’.

After a preliminary enquiry, the precocious court’s OSD (Vigilance), Haryana, successful May 2016 concluded that the behaviour of petitioner was recovered to beryllium an enactment of nonrecreational misconduct. This led to him being graded ‘C (integrity doubtful)’ successful the ACR for 2015-16. In 2019, helium was informed that proceedings successful the 2014 ailment was being dropped connected the recommendations of the Vigilance/Disciplinary Committee. He was advised to beryllium cautious successful aboriginal and his ACR for 2014-15 was besides confirmed arsenic ‘B+ Good’. However, the ACR for 2015-16 was finalized arsenic ‘C-Integrity Doubtful’. Consequently, his judicial enactment was withdrawn and the Punjab authorities terminated him connected the proposal of the afloat court.

Hearing the matter, the seat noted that determination is thing connected grounds but the ailment to infer that the integrity of the petitioner was doubtful owed to immoderate extraneous information oregon otherwise. The HC asserted that the Full Court determination passed successful 2021 and the recommendations of the Recruitment and Promotion Committee (Superior Judicial Service) made successful 2022, approved by the Full Court successful 2022, did not announcement the dropping of the proceedings successful the ailment filed and treating the ACR of the petitioner arsenic ‘B+Good’ arsenic final, for the twelvemonth 2014-15.

“Therefore, applying the aforesaid ratio, which was made ground for treating the provisional remarks recorded successful the ACR for the twelvemonth 2014-15 arsenic final, the remarks recorded successful the ACR for the twelvemonth 2015-16 bash not clasp the crushed and, therefore, determination being nary worldly but the ailment ,the proceedings wherein were dropped, the said remarks could not person been made the basis,” said the bench, portion allowing the petition.