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K. Rajaiah v. The High Court for the State of Telangana

Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 142Decided 11 Feb 2026
C.A. No.-001560-001560 - 2026
Justice K.V. Viswanathan · Justice Vipul M. Pancholi · Justice J.B. Pardiwala

Background

The appellant, an attender in a district court in Telangana since 1998, was absent from work for a few days in August 2017 due to illness, for which he later furnished a medical certificate and applied for leave. He was nonetheless subjected to a disciplinary inquiry, which escalated into a charge of fabricating documents, and was ultimately dismissed from service in 2018. His departmental appeal was rejected, and the Telangana High Court dismissed his writ petition challenging the dismissal in 2024, upholding the disciplinary findings.

Decision Breakdown

The Court reiterated settled law that while courts do not ordinarily sit in appeal over a disciplinary authority's factual findings, judicial review is available where there is no evidence to support the findings or where the findings are perverse: ones no reasonable person could have reached. Examining the record, the Court found the charge of fabrication was not, in fact, established by reliable evidence, and given that the charge was grave, the authorities were required to exercise greater caution before imposing so severe a penalty. Since the foundational charge collapsed, the Court held the earlier 2011 punishment on the appellant's record (an unrelated stoppage of increments) was irrelevant, and set aside both the dismissal and the appellate order affirming it, directing his reinstatement with full back wages and consequential benefits within three weeks.

Lesson Learnt

A disciplinary dismissal from government service can be struck down by courts where the underlying charge is not backed by real evidence or the finding is perverse: an employee is entitled to reinstatement with back pay when a dismissal built on an unproven grave charge is set aside.

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

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