In a significant ruling, the High Court of Madhya Pradesh set aside the termination of a compassionate appointee, emphasising that non disclosure of a criminal case arising out of a matrimonial dispute especially after acquittal cannot automatically render a candidate unfit for government service.
The case arose from the termination of the Petitioner who was appointed as a Peon on compassionate grounds after his father’s death in service. During police verification it was found that he had not disclosed a pending criminal case under Section 498 A IPC. Despite his acquittal prior to termination authorities declared him unfit and terminated his services.
The cousnel for the Petitioner argued that termination was illegal as no show cause notice was given and principles of natural justice were violated. He emphasized that he had already been acquitted and the case was purely matrimonial lacking moral turpitude.
The State contended that the Petitioner deliberately concealed material information in the verification form and that such suppression justified termination under the terms of appointment and adverse police verification.
The Court observed that compassionate appointment is not a source of recruitment but a means to enable the family of the deceased to get over sudden financial crisis and must be considered with flexibility. It further held that termination based solely on non disclosure without assessing actual unfitness is arbitrary. The Court noted that the offence arose from a matrimonial dispute and did not involve moral turpitude especially after acquittal.
The High Court allowed the writ petition and quashed the termination order and related communications and directed the authorities to reconsider the petitioner’s case for compassionate appointment within 60 days.
Case Title: Bherugir v. State of Madhya Pradesh
Case No.: W.P. No. 19107 of 2019
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Jai Kumar Pillai
Advocate for the Appellant: Shri Shantanu Sharma with Shri Divyansh Luniya
Advocate for the Respondent: Shri Ayushyaman Choudhary
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