Removal From Service For Submitting Forged Marksheet Disproportionate For Constable With Unblemished Record Of 38 Yrs: Rajasthan High Court

Rajasthan High Court set aside the punishment of removal from service against a constable who was charged for submitted a forged marksheet at the time of entering the service, ruling that given the unblemished record of 38 years of service of the Petitioner, and the nature of the misconduct, the punishment was disproportionate and excessive. The bench of Justice Vinit Kumar Mathur was hearing a writ petition filed by the Petitioner against the order of the Superintendent of Police, Anti-Corruption Board wherein the Petitioner was imposed with the penalty of removal from service and recovery of salary & allowances which were paid to him after the actual date of superannuation. The Petitioner was appointed as constable in 1982 and in 2013, he was served with a charge sheet with allegation of submitting forged marksheet while entering the service, and subsequently the challenged punishment was imposed in 2020. In this background, the Court set aside the order of the punishment to the extent of removing the Petitioner from service while retaining the other part of the punishment as per which the Petitioner was directed to deposit the entire amount of salary and allowances after the actual date of superannuation in the Government treasury.