Criminal trial acquittal must influence disciplinary actions with identical charges: Calcutta HC [Read Order]

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has delivered a significant judgment emphasizing that the outcome of a criminal trial should influence disciplinary proceedings, particularly when the charges are identical or closely related.

A Division Bench comprising Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Partha Sarathi Chatterjee made this observation while deciding a writ petition filed by Subal Makhal against the Indian Red Cross Society and others.

The court noted that the petitioner, a Group-D employee of the Indian Red Cross Society, was removed from service in 2008 following disciplinary proceedings initiated in 1995. He was later acquitted in a related criminal case in 2013.

Highlighting the importance of considering criminal trial outcomes, the court held, “The findings regarding the allegations in the disciplinary proceeding stood contradicted by the findings of the court in the criminal trial, and only thereafter could the petitioner have filed the application for review of the order of removal.”

The court observed that the charges in both the disciplinary proceedings and the criminal trial were almost identical, centering around an alleged act of breach of trust. It found that the petitioner was acquitted in the criminal trial after full consideration of the evidence.

Expressing its view on the impact of criminal acquittal on disciplinary proceedings, the court stated, “Mere suspicion should not be allowed to take the place of proof, even in domestic inquiries. It may be that the technical rules which govern criminal trials in courts may not necessarily apply to disciplinary proceedings, but nevertheless, the principle that in punishing the guilty, scrupulous care must be taken to ensure that the innocent are not punished, applies as much to regular criminal trials as to disciplinary inquiries held under statutory rules.”

The court directed a modification of the punishment from removal to a reduction in pay scale for two years, deeming the petitioner reinstated with continuity of service. It also ordered the payment of 50% back wages and all retirement benefits.

[Read Order]