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Shatrughn Yadav v. The Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd. (F.A.C.T.)

Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 829Decided 11 Aug 2026
Civil Appeal @ SLP(Civil) No. 7197 of 2026
Justice Sanjay Karol · Justice Augustine George Masih

Background

Shatrughn Yadav was appointed as a Technician (Process) at Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd. (FACT) in 2021 and declared, on his attestation form, that no criminal case was pending against him. A police verification later revealed a Non-Cognizable Report (NCR) had been registered against him in 2019 under IPC Sections 323 and 504. FACT terminated his services in 2023 for allegedly furnishing false information, even though Yadav had never been summoned or arrested and his name was later dropped from the case for lack of evidence. His challenge to the termination was rejected by both a Single Judge and a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court applied the two-pronged test from its earlier decision in Avtar Singh v. Union of India: first, whether there was actually any suppression or false information (which requires the candidate to have had knowledge of the antecedent), and second, if so, whether that suppression was serious enough to justify termination given the nature of the post and offence. The Court found Yadav had no means of knowing about the NCR. He was never summoned, arrested, or questioned, and had produced a police character certificate showing no adverse entries as well as later confirmation that his name was removed from the case. Since knowledge is a prerequisite for "suppression," and the employer had never actually examined the specific facts (nature of the offence, its bearing on his job, or his subsequent discharge) before terminating him, the dismissal failed both prongs of the test and was illegal. The Court ordered his reinstatement with full consequential benefits, restricting back-wages to 50%.

Lesson Learnt

An employer cannot mechanically terminate someone for "suppressing" a criminal case unless it is shown the employee actually knew about it, and even then, termination must follow a genuine, case-specific inquiry into the nature of the offence and its relevance to the job, not an automatic rule.

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

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