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The Director General of Police, Tamil Nadu, Mylapore vs J. Raghunees

Civil Appeal · 2023 INSC 944Decided 20 Oct 2023
Civil Appeal No. 1183 of 2012

Background

J. Raghunees was selected for the post of Grade-II Constable in Tamil Nadu Police after clearing the written test, but during the routine character-and-antecedent verification it emerged that he had been an accused (and was later acquitted) in a 1997 criminal case involving assault-related charges, a fact he had not disclosed. In the attestation/verification form, column 15 asked whether he had "ever been concerned in any criminal case as defendant," to which he simply answered "No." The police authorities denied him appointment for suppressing this material fact; a Single Judge upheld that decision, but the Division Bench of the High Court reversed it, holding his non-disclosure was not willful since he had already been acquitted before verification.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the real issue was not whether Raghunees was eligible under the Tamil Nadu Special Police Subordinate Service Rules, 1978, but whether he had suppressed material information, and he clearly had, since he answered "No" despite having been an accused in a criminal case, regardless of his eventual acquittal. Relying on its earlier three-judge bench ruling in Avtar Singh v. Union of India, the Court reiterated that a candidate must truthfully disclose any conviction, acquittal, arrest, or pending criminal case, and that even a truthful disclosure does not create an automatic right to appointment: the employer retains discretion to assess antecedents, especially for a disciplined force like the police. Finding that Raghunees's false "No" answer amounted to suppression casting serious doubt on his character, the Court set aside the Division Bench's judgment and restored the order denying him appointment.

Lesson Learnt

In recruitment to disciplined services such as the police, candidates must fully and truthfully disclose any past involvement in a criminal case, even one ending in acquittal, because concealment itself, not just the underlying charge, can be a lawful ground for denying employment.

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

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