New Delhi: Observing that dismissal from service is an extreme measure that disrupts an employee’s family and abruptly ends their livelihood, Delhi High Court has set aside the termination of a CRPF personnel and ordered his reinstatement. A bench of Justices C Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla said dismissal should not be taken routinely, particularly when the charges do not involve moral turpitude or impropriety. The employee was dismissed on three counts — marrying another woman during the subsistence of his first marriage, not informing his employer about the second marriage and availing child care allowance for the daughter of his second wife before formally adopting her. The petitioner argued that his first marriage had been dissolved through a deed executed on stamp paper in the presence of the village panchayat. Calling dismissal a “travesty of justice” in the circumstances, the court directed that the petitioner be treated as continuing in service, with all consequential benefits including seniority and pay fixation. However, he will not be entitled to back wages for the period he did not serve, the bench clarified.
