Reinstating a BSF head constable who was dismissed from service for slapping his senior thrice around three years ago, the Delhi High court noted that “you hurt me and I will hurt you; if I cannot hurt you, I demand that you should be hurt by others are concepts of punishment that have no place in a civil society”.
The high court held that given the backdrop in which the petitioner slapped the senior, “the penalty of dismissal from service is grossly disproportionate to the gravity of the wrong”.
A Bench of Justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Pratibha Rani, which maintained his conviction, ordered that the head constable be reinstated within four weeks.
The Bench was deciding a petition moved by the BSF jawan who was dismissed for slapping his senior, an inspector, after the latter delayed preparing a leave certificate and completing other formalities even as the petitioner had a train to board. Maintaining the conviction, the Bench said, “We direct the petitioner to be reinstated in service and do not permit any penalty to be imposed for the reason that we are denying back wages fully to the petitioner and also declaring that the period post-service being terminated, which is September 10, 2013, till reinstatement would not be counted in service for purposes of increment...”
Defence witnesses
The court also relied on the testimony of the prosecution witnesses and two defence witnesses, according to which the senior in question was “a brusque person and his manner of speaking was not only curt, but a little offensive”.
The petitioner was suffering from a neuro-spinal ailment back then and was undergoing treatment for the same.
He had sought and been granted an appointment by the Director General, BSF. He had then applied for leave to go home, which was sanctioned, and was awaiting clearance to catch the Sealdah Rajdhani that left at 4:50 p.m. on August 30, 2013.
Leave woes
The said senior had not completed the necessary formalities even post noon on the day the petitioner had to catch the train.
The court, which took into account the petitioner’s record of absenting without leave once, held that despite the record dismissal was grossly disproportionate to the offence of slapping the senior.
