Employee's Request For Reinstatement After Acquittal Can't Be Rejected Without Re-Examining Material Forming Basis Of Termination: Patna HC
While quashing the health department's order terminating the services of a man, the Patna High Court reiterated that natural justice principles require that an individual must be given the opportunity to respond to any adverse evidence before such punitive actions are taken against them. In doing so the high court observed that the respondent-Department should have re-examined the matter, particularly the documents used to justify the petitioner's termination, before rejecting his reinstatement request. The court further observed that following the petitioner's acquittal by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jamui on December 18, 2021 which unambiguously established that the allegations of submitting a fabricated mark sheet were unfounded, the petitioner was "not given a proper opportunity to have the documents involved in his termination reconsidered". It noted that the petitioner had filed multiple representations requesting that his case be reconsidered in light of his acquittal, but these were summarily rejected without any due process or proper inquiry into the status of the documents and the validity of the previous termination decision.
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