Probationary employees may be terminated for violating appointment terms, including misrepresenting criminal history, without requiring formal procedural safeguards.

Judgment & Order :

KARDAK ETE, J.

Heard Mr. J. Kalita, learned counsel for the petitioner. And also heard Ms. M. Bhattacharjee, learned Addl. Senior Govt. Advocate, for State respondents.

2. Challenge made in this writ petition is to the order dated 09.02.2024, passed by the Superintendent of Police (Commn) Assam, by which the petitioner has been terminated from service as Constable (WO/WT) of the Assam Police Radio Organization (hereinafter referred to as APRO in short) with immediate effect and order dated 02.07.2024, passed by Inspector General of Police (Commn), Assam, Ulubari, Guwahati, whereby the appeal of the petitioner is rejected.

3. Brief fact of the case is that the petitioner was appointed as Constable (WO/WT) in the APRO, Assam, along with 339 others, on the recommendation of the State Level Recruitment Board vide order dated 24.05.2023. Petitioner joined his service on 01.06.2023 and completed his basic Drill and Discipline training and was posted at APRO, HQ, Ulubari and was on probation. The appointment order dated 24.05.2023 contains terms and conditions, inter alia, that the appointees who submitted notarised affidavit swearing that he/she is not involved in any criminal or unlawful activities in the eye of law, appropriate steps will be taken in case of misrepresentation of facts found by the authority. The appointee shall submit notarised affidavit regarding character and antecedent and undertaking that the appointment shall be subject to satisfactory verification of documents and undertaking submitted by the appointees.

4. While the petitioner was serving at the APRO Headquarter, at Ulubari, the Superintendent of Police (Commn) HQ-II, vide letter dated 29.01.2024, issued a show cause to the petitioner to explain as to why he had concealed the fact of involvement in criminal case, while joining the government service and should not be discharged from service for violating Clause-5 of the appointment letter. Clause-5 of the appointment letter requires that the appointee furnish a signed undertaking or affidavit, thereby declaring that they have voluntarily and without duress agreed to the terms and conditions mentioned in the appointment order.

5. Pursuant thereto, the petitioner submitted his written explanation dated 03.02.2024, whereby the petitioner has admitted that he has submitted a notarized affidavit by mentioning that he is not involved in any criminal case. Explaining the involvement in the Jajori PS Case No. 60 of 2018, under Sections 427 /294/325/34 IPC , the petitioner stated that the said case has arisen out of family feud between his late father and his elder brother regarding the ancestral residential plot, wherein the paternal uncle and his wife lodged the FIR with a totally false and concocted story and as the incident arises out of family feud without involving any other person or public, he presumed that same is not a criminal case. Therefore, he was not involved in criminal or unlawful activities in the eye of law, more so, he has not been convicted of any offence and there is nothing adverse in his character and antecedent. The petitioner further explained that the case was out of purely family feud and mainly lodged against his fathe