The Supreme Court upheld a disciplinary authority’s order on Monday directing the termination of a CISF constable from service on grounds of misconduct, saying that police officers did not need to engage in moral policing.
Santosh Kumar Pandey was ordered to be reinstated in 2014 by the Gujarat High Court with 50% of his wages retroactive to the date of his removal. A bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice J.K. Maheshwari overturned that decision.
The case began on October 28, 2001 when Pandey was assigned to night shift at the IPCL Township’s Greenbelt section in Vadodara, Gujarat.
Around 1am, Pandey allegedly approached complainant Mahesh B. Chaudhry and his fiancee who were riding past on a bike and had stopped at a street corner.
The complaint alleges that Pandey exploited the circumstance by telling Chaudhry that he wanted to spend “some time” with his fiance.
The couple left the location after an argument, but Chaudhry was forced to give Pandey his watch.
On the basis of Chaudhry’s complaint, Pandey was fired after departmental proceedings were started against him.
However, the Gujarat High Court overturned Pandey’s dismissal in 2014 and ordered his reinstatement on the grounds that the woman’s statement was inconsistent. Then the CISF petitioned the supreme court.
The Supreme Court said the high court had not evaluated the evidence and the statements of the couple properly. “…We have to observe that the facts in the present case are startling and distressing. … Santosh Kumar Pandey is not a police officer, and even police officers are not required to do moral policing, ask for physical favour or material goods.”