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The State of Rajasthan & Ors. vs Chetan Jeff

Civil Appeal · 2022 INSC 556Decided 11 May 2022
Civil Appeal No. 3116 of 2022
M.R. Shah · B.V. Nagarathna

Background

The respondent applied for the post of Police Constable in Rajasthan in 2008 and declared in his application form that he had no pending criminal case or FIR against him. In fact, an FIR had already been registered against him a few months earlier. When this suppression came to light during verification, his candidature was rejected. He challenged the rejection, and a single judge of the Rajasthan High Court, relying on the argument that the offence was "trivial", directed the State to reconsider him for appointment; a Division Bench upheld that order. By the time the matter reached the Supreme Court, the respondent had also had three to four further FIRs registered against him, though he had been acquitted (via compromise) in two, convicted with the benefit of probation in one, and still faced one pending case.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the key issue was not whether the underlying offence was trivial, but that the candidate had made a false declaration and suppressed the fact of a pending criminal case altogether: a matter of trust and integrity, especially for a uniformed post like police constable that requires upholding the law. Relying on a long line of its own precedents (including Avtar Singh vs Union of India and Devendra Kumar vs State of Uttaranchal), the Court reiterated that suppression or false declaration about criminal antecedents, by itself, disentitles a candidate to appointment, regardless of whether the underlying case was later resolved in the candidate's favour. It also noted the additional FIRs registered against the respondent after his initial application only reinforced the State's position. The Court set aside the High Court's judgment and upheld the rejection of the respondent's candidature.

Lesson Learnt

When applying for a government job, especially in law enforcement or other uniformed services, a candidate must truthfully disclose any pending criminal case, however minor it may seem; concealing or falsely denying it can be a valid, independent ground for rejection even if the candidate is later acquitted or the case is trivial.

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

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