The High Court of Orissa has directed the State Govt to reinstate a person who was discharged from Police service way back in 1994 on account falling short in height by 1 centimetre.
On Friday, the Court issued the direction on a plea filed by Dolamani Bishi, who was discharged from service while undergoing training on getting an appointment as writer constable after his height was reported to be one cm short of the required 168 cm.
Bishi had joined as writer constable on Aug 16, 1993, in reserve office, Balangir after being duly selected by a selection committee. On March 14, 1994, he was deputed for nine months of training to Police Training School at Hatibari in Sundargarh.
Bishi was discharged from service on Oct 31, 1994, after the principal of the police training school reported that his height was 167 cm. He moved the HC after Odisha Administrative Tribunal (OAT) rejected his petition against termination of his service.
The division bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq & Justice BR Sarangi directed the Govt “to reinstate the petitioner in service by condoning the height of 1 cm, allow him to resume training for left-out period & continue in service as before”.
While quashing Bishi’s termination order & OAT order on the ground that both cannot sustain in the eye of law, the bench ruled that, “As such, by getting appointment & continuing in service & by undergoing training a right has been accrued in favour of the petitioner. Therefore, the same should not have been dislodged in a capricious manner by the authority concerned, as has been attempted to be done in the instant case”.
Source Link
Picture Source :
