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Captain Pramod Kumar Bajaj v. Union of India and Anr.

Not available · 2026 INSC 101Decided 30 Jan 2026
Not available
Justice Vikram Nath · Justice Sandeep Mehta

Background

A former Army officer, whose 2023 compulsory retirement the Supreme Court had already quashed as "punitive," was rejected again by a fourth Search Committee that included an officer he had previously pursued contempt proceedings against.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held including an officer with a prior conflict of interest on the very committee deciding his case created a reasonable apprehension of bias, even one biased member taints an entire committee's decision. A fresh committee, excluding the conflicted officer, was ordered within weeks, along with ₹5 lakh in costs against the government for its delay.

Lesson Learnt

A person who was a party to a dispute with someone should not sit in judgment on that same person's case later, even one conflicted member can invalidate an entire committee's decision.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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