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IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH AT GWALIOR
Milind Ramesh Phadke
Arjun Singh Rathore – Appellant
Versus
State Of Madhya Pradesh – Respondent
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. petition filed against termination of services (Para 1 , 2) |
| 2. factual background of the petitioner's termination (Para 3 , 4) |
| 3. petitioner's arguments against the termination (Para 5 , 6 , 7) |
| 4. government's stance on charges and misconduct (Para 8) |
| 5. independence of departmental proceedings from criminal trials (Para 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 15) |
| 6. legal standards in departmental proceedings and judicial review (Para 14) |
| 7. judicial review limited to decision-making process (Para 16 , 17) |
| 8. court's dismissal of the petition (Para 18 , 19) |
ORDER :
Milind Ramesh Phadke, J.
This petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been filed by the petitioner being aggrieved the order dated 19.07.2013 passed by respondent No.4 whereby services of the petitioner were terminated after conducting departmental enquiry.
2. The petitioner is further aggrieved by the order dated 03.10.2013 passed by respondent No.3 whereby the appeal preferred by the petitioner against the said order was rejected. The petitioner is also aggrieved by the order dated 03.05.2014 passed by respondent No.2 whereby the second appeal preferred by the petitioner was also rejected.
3. In brief, the fact
Disciplinary proceedings can continue independently from criminal cases, and acquittal does not guarantee reinstatement; the standard of proof in such proceedings is preponderance of probabilities.
The court emphasized that prior acquittals in criminal proceedings should substantially impact disciplinary actions arising from the same facts, deeming unjust excessive penalties like dismissal.
Acquittal in criminal proceedings does not negate the authority's power to impose disciplinary action when misconduct is proven by preponderance of probabilities.
The court held that a disciplinary dismissal based on unproven charges is unjustified, especially when the employee is acquitted in related criminal proceedings.
The dismissal of a police officer based on departmental proceedings was unjustified as the charges were not proven, and acquittal in criminal proceedings must be considered.
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