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Gajula Thirupathi v. The Telangana State Level Police Recruitment Board and Others

Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 493Decided 21 May 2026
C.A. No.-008059-008059 - 2026
Justice Manoj Misra · Justice Manmohan

Background

The appellant was provisionally selected as a Stipendiary Cadet Trainee Police Constable, but had disclosed at the application stage that a criminal case (involving allegations that he had a relationship with a woman on a promise of marriage, then reneged) had been registered against him in 2014. That case was compromised and compounded before the Lok Adalat in 2015 after the complainant withdrew her allegations. The recruitment board cancelled his selection on the ground that the case involved "moral turpitude" and disqualified him under the applicable service rules, relying on Supreme Court precedents (Avtar Singh and Mehar Singh) holding that police recruits must have impeccable character. A Single Judge of the Telangana High Court set aside this cancellation as arbitrary, but a Division Bench of the same High Court reversed that relief, upholding the cancellation, leading to the appellant's appeal to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that since the underlying criminal case never proceeded to trial, the allegations were withdrawn and the matter compounded by the victim herself before conviction, there was no proven finding of misconduct, since only a court verdict following a trial could have established guilt. Given that the complainant herself chose to withdraw the allegations, and both parties were adults and long-acquainted neighbours, the Court found no proper basis to treat the appellant's character as tainted. It held that the Screening Committee's decision to deny appointment on this basis was arbitrary, agreeing with the Single Judge's original view and holding that the Division Bench erred in overturning it. The appeal was allowed, the Division Bench's order was set aside, and the Single Judge's order restoring the appellant's candidacy was reinstated.

Lesson Learnt

A criminal case that is compounded/withdrawn by the complainant before trial, without any judicial finding of guilt, cannot by itself be treated as conclusive proof of bad character to deny public employment, recruiting authorities must look at the actual facts and outcome of a case, not simply the fact that an FIR was once registered, before branding a candidate as unfit.

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

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