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Manohar Lal v. Commissioner of Police & Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 234Decided 12 Mar 2026
Civil Appeal No. 13860 of 2024
Justice J.K. Maheshwari · Justice Atul S. Chandurkar

Background

A Delhi Police constable was dismissed from service in 2017 by the Deputy Commissioner of Police without a departmental inquiry, invoking the special constitutional power under Article 311(2)'s second proviso, clause (b), which allows skipping an inquiry when the authority believes it is "not reasonably practicable" to hold one. The stated reason was a fear that the constable, who was facing a criminal FIR and was in custody at the time, might threaten or influence witnesses. His departmental appeal, and later his challenges before the Central Administrative Tribunal and the Delhi High Court, were all rejected, so he approached the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the dismissal order was invalid because the disciplinary authority had not recorded any specific instance or concrete material showing actual intimidation, threats, or inducement of the complainant or witnesses: a mere apprehension or presumption is not enough to invoke the extraordinary power to bypass a full departmental inquiry under Article 311(2)(b). Relying on its own precedents (including Union of India v. Tulsiram Patel and Tarsem Singh v. State of Punjab), the Court reiterated that this constitutional safeguard cannot be dispensed with lightly, arbitrarily, or without objective, recorded satisfaction based on real material. It quashed the dismissal order and the orders of the CAT and High Court upholding it, and directed the appellant's reinstatement with continuity of service and full consequential benefits, though back wages were restricted to 50% given the pending criminal case against him. The Court clarified this was without prejudice to the department's right to still hold a proper departmental inquiry.

Lesson Learnt

A government employee cannot be dismissed by skipping the mandatory disciplinary inquiry unless the authority records concrete, specific reasons, not mere apprehension, showing why holding an inquiry was genuinely impracticable; courts will strike down such dismissals and order reinstatement if the stated justification is vague or unsupported by evidence.

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

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