BIBRATA BISWAS Vs. UNION OF INDIA & ORS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner was selected for recruitment as a constable of Railway Protection Force (hereafter the R.P.F.). It is claimed in the writ petition that after such selection, the petitioner was sent for training to Hyderabad on November 1, 2014, and upon successful completion of training he was directed to report to the office of the Chief Security Commissioner, R.P.F. on June 25, 2015 by an order dated June 18, 2015. Although the petitioner has pleaded that he had duly reported on June 25, 2015 in the office of the Chief Security Commissioner, there is no pleading as to what transpired till August 11, 2015 with regard to his formal induction into the R.P.F. On August 11, 2015, the petitioner received a communication from the Staff Officer attached to the office of the Chief Security Commissioner reading as follows:

(2.) Mr. Majumder, learned advocate representing the petitioner invited the attention of the Bench to the judgment and order dated December 2, 2015, passed by the Judicial Magistrate, 3rd Court, Ranaghat, in connection with G.R. Case No. 1333 of 2007 arising out of Dhantala P.S. FIR No. 282/07 dated September 23, 2007 under sections 447/448/379/411/427/323/325/307/506/120B/34 IPC, and contended that the petitioner and the other three accused were acquitted under section 248(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code. According to him, the action of the respondents in not affording the petitioner an opportunity of hearing prior to ordering discharge as well as not considering his suitability for the post for which he was selected rendered the same indefensible and that having regard to the recent decision of the Supreme Court reported in 2016 (7) JT 300 (Avtar Singh v. Union of India & ors.), the impugned order ought to be set aside and the respondents directed to reconsider the desirability of retaining the petitioner in service in accordance with law and in the light of the observations in Avtar Singh (supra).

(3.) Attention of the Bench was also drawn to a letter dated February 24, 2004, issued by the Under Secretary, Railway Board to the Commanding Officer, 2BN/Railway Protection Special Force, Gorakhpur. Referring to the case of one constable recruit, Shri Bijender Singh Gautam, discharged by an order dated January 28, 2002, it appears that his case being sympathetically considered upon his acquittal in the criminal case, which was suppressed while filling up the attestation form, an order was issued to send him for further training in the next batch subject to his fulfilling other conditions. Mr. Majumder contended that a subsequent acquittal has been considered to be an important factor for reversing an earlier order of discharge from service and that the petitioner may be directed to be accorded similar treatment.