JUDGMENT :

Sangam Kumar Sahoo, CJ.

1. The present Letters Patent Appeal arises out of the judgment and order dated 20.01.2025 passed by the learned Single Judge in C.W.J.C. No. 6827 of 2023 whereby the writ petition preferred by the writ petitioner, Sonu Kumar was allowed and the order of dismissal from service passed against him was set aside.

2. The writ petitioner approached this Court seeking, inter alia, the following reliefs:

"i. For issuance of an order, direction or a writ of certiorari for quashing and setting aside the order contained in Memo No. 1742 dated 20.06.2022 and the consequential order contained in Memo No. 1620 dated 27.06.2020 whereby and whereunder the petitioner who was appointed Sub-Inspector of Police has been dismissed from service allegedly on the ground that he had suppressed the pendency of criminal case against him in his application form against advertisement number 01/2017.

ii. For issuance of an order, direction or a writ of certiorari for quashing and setting aside the order dated 14.02.2023 whereby and whereunder the competent authority has been pleased to dismiss the appeal of the petitioner against the order of dismissal from service.

iii. For issuance of an order, direction or a writ of mandamus for directing the respondent authorities to grant all consequential benefits including reinstatement in service with entire back wages for the period of idleness and all other consequential benefits."

3. The primary challenge in the writ petition was to the order contained in Memo No. 1742 dated 20.06.2022 and the consequential order contained in Memo No. 1620 dated 27.06.2022 whereby the petitioner, who had been appointed as a Sub-Inspector of Police, was dismissed from service on the allegation that he had suppressed the pendency of a criminal case while filling up the application form pursuant to Advertisement No. 01 of 2017. The petitioner also challenged the appellate order dated 14.02.2023 whereby his appeal against the dismissal order was rejected.

FACTS LEADING TO THE WRIT PETITION :

4. The relevant facts giving rise to the present litigation, as pleaded by the parties, are as follows:

An advertisement bearing Advertisement No. 01 of 2017 dated 16.09.2017 was issued by the Bihar Police Subordinate Service Commission inviting applications for appointment to the post of Police Sub-Inspector against 1717 vacancies. The petitioner, being eligible, submitted his online application form. In the application form, he was required to disclose, inter alia, whether any criminal case or F.I.R. had ever been registered against him and whether any such case was pending at the time of submission of the form. The petitioner answered the relevant columns in the negative.

5. The petitioner, thereafter, appeared in the preliminary examination and was declared successful. He also qualified the main examination and subsequently the Physical Eligibility Test. After being declared successful in all stages of the selection process, he was called upon for documents verification. At the stage of documents verification, the petitioner was required to fill up the verification roll prescribed under the Bihar Police Manual. In Column No. 7 of the verification roll, the candidate was required to disclose whether he had ever been accused in any criminal or civil case and whether any case was pending against him.

6. It is the petitioner’s case that while filling up the verification roll in Column No. 8, he disclosed the pendency of a criminal case being Samastipur Muffasil Case No. 291 of 2015 dated 21.09.2015. Subsequently, the verification roll was processed by the concerned authorities and a noting was made therein on 07.05.2019 indicating that the aforesaid criminal case had been registered against the petitioner and that charge-sheet had been submitted under sections 364, 302, 201 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code.

Despite the said disclosure and verification, the petitioner was issued an appointment letter dated 29.05.2019 by th