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Ex Sepoy Madan Prasad vs. Union of India (2023 INSC 656)

Civil Appeal · 2023 INSC 656Decided 28 Jul 2023
Civil Appeal No. 246 of 2017
Hima Kohli · Rajesh Bindal

Background

The appellant, an Army driver, was granted leave in 1998-99 which was later extended on compassionate grounds because his wife was allegedly ill. When his request for further extension was refused, he did not report back for duty and remained absent without authorization for 108 days before finally surrendering. A Summary Court Martial found him guilty under Section 39(b) of the Army Act (overstaying leave without sufficient cause) and dismissed him from service. His appeals within the military system and then before the Armed Forces Tribunal were all rejected, leading to this final appeal.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the appellant never produced any medical documents to support his claim that his wife was seriously ill, and he had pleaded "guilty" to the charge during his court martial. It rejected his legal argument that dismissal from service was too harsh a punishment, clarifying that under the Army Act's own punishment scale, dismissal is actually treated as a lesser punishment than imprisonment, so it could not be called disproportionate. The Court also noted this was not an isolated lapse. The appellant had five prior instances of unauthorized absence over his career, making him a "habitual offender" for whom leniency was unwarranted. Finding no legal infirmity in the process followed, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the dismissal from service.

Lesson Learnt

In disciplined services like the armed forces, repeated unauthorized absence, especially unsupported by proof such as medical records, can justify dismissal from service rather than a lesser punishment, and courts will be reluctant to interfere with proportionate disciplinary action taken under a service's own governing rules.

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

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