By, Rajesh Pandey
While considering a case of an appointment to a government post, the Allahabad High Court has held that such appointments cannot be denied due to mere implication in a dowry case.
In the present case, the petitioner – Baba Singh applied for the post of Assistant Boring Technician in the Minor Irrigation Department in the state of Uttar Pradesh. He appeared in the relevant examination and passed it successfully. He was then called for verification of his documents. On his arrival, however, the petitioner was denied the issuance of an appointment letter. He was informed that this was because he had a pending criminal case against him under Sections 498A (cruelty against woman for dowry) and 323 (voluntary causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and section 4 of the Dowry Prevention Act, 1961.
In response, the petitioner filed a writ petition praying that the respondents be directed to reconsider his appointment based on the election results. The court, while disposing of that petition, directed that the petitioner be allowed to submit a fresh representation to the Chief Engineer, Minor Irrigation Department and that the Chief Engineer decide the representation law. Thereafter, the petitioner submitted his representation which was rejected by the chief engineer, minor irrigation department, Lucknow on February 16, 2024, once again because a criminal case was pending against him. Aggrieved by the same, he filed the present writ petition.
The petitioner contended that when he applied for the post, he was unaware of the institution of a criminal case against him. He submitted that the case in question was filed by his elder brother’s father-in-law against his entire family, barring his brother, for mentally and physically harassing the daughter for dowry. Under this, a summoning order was issued, based on which the petitioner declined the appointment letter.
The court held that merely being implicated in a criminal case does not de facto form a basis for rejecting the candidate. In this case, where the person seeking appointment was the brother of the main accused and had been implicated in the case for dowry.
Justice JJ Munir allowed the writ petition and quashed the order dated February 16, 2024, passed by the chief engineer, minor irrigation department, Lucknowo,w and further directed the chief engineer to consider the petitioner’s case for appointment to the post of Assistant Boring Techniciabyth the recommendations of the selection commission within a month.
Giving this judgment dated September 30, the court observed, “Given the social conditions prevalent in society, while women do become victims of cruelty in their matrimonial homes, it is equally true, and by now, judicially acknowledged, that for slight or no infraction, the entire family of the husband is either reported to the police or brought before the criminal court by a disenchanted wife or her relatives, alleging cruelty. Should in a case like this, a candidate selected for his merit through a public examination, who otherwise has a clean image and is part of the mainstream society, be banished from the privileges of public employment?”
It was pleaded that the entire proceedings of the criminal case had been challenged by the petitioner where the court issued notice to the complainant and stayed further proceedings in the complaint.
