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The State of Odisha & Ors. v. Gobinda Behera

Civil Appeal · 2020 INSC 119Decided 31 Jan 2020
Civil Appeal No. 893 of 2020
Dr. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud · Justice K.M. Joseph

Background

The respondent applied to become a police constable in Odisha and declared on his application that he had no pending criminal case against him. In fact, he was facing a criminal case involving several IPC offences. He was appointed, but when the police verification revealed the concealed case, he was discharged from service for giving false information. He challenged this, and the Orissa High Court ordered his reinstatement, relying on a Supreme Court precedent (Avtar Singh) and noting that the criminal case was later quashed via compromise.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court reversed the High Court and restored the order discharging him from service. It held that the criminal case against him was not trivial, and he had suppressed it while applying for a position, a police constable's job, that specifically demands trust and truthful disclosure of character and antecedents. The fact that the criminal case was later quashed by compromise did not erase the suppression, especially since the quashing happened only after his discharge, well after the false declaration was made. Applying the Avtar Singh framework, the Court found the employer was justified in refusing to continue employing someone who had concealed such information.

Lesson Learnt

When applying for a government job, especially one involving public trust like police service, always disclose any pending criminal case truthfully; concealing it can cost you the job even years later, and getting the case later dropped or compromised will not undo the consequences of the original false declaration.

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

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