My appointment is cancelled by the employer after police verification due to my involvement in a criminal case which ultimately resulted in my acquittal. I was falsely implicated in a criminal case by the dispute arising out of property matters. A false FIR was lodged against me and my family members for the offence of rape and extortion. In that criminal case I was acquitted by the court for lack of evidence. Actually I compromised the case with the complainant after I got selected in the education department. When I filled up the form mistakenly not disclosed about the pending criminal case. When the police verification was done by the local police a report was submitted that I was involved in a criminal case. Is there any possibility to challenge the decision of the appointing authority in the high court?
Asked from: Madhya Pradesh
Rape is a heinous offense closely linked to the moral depravity of the offender. You committed an error by concealing the fact of a pending criminal case and ongoing trial. If you had disclosed the correct information on your application form, there is a possibility you may not have been selected or appointed.
When an employer finds that an applicant has, at the outset, made a false statement, failed to disclose material information, or suppressed essential facts, they may determine that such an individual cannot be retained in service, as they may not be trustworthy in the future.
Your acquittal was achieved through a compromise. However, non-compoundable offences cannot be legally compromised; thus, the matter was settled by influencing the prosecutrix to become hostile. Under these circumstances, you cannot claim the FIR was false. There was prima facie evidence against you, which led to the framing of charges and facing a trial process.
It is a well-established legal principle that courts cannot compel an employer to appoint a candidate with a criminal history. In Avtar Singh v. Union of India, (2016) 8 SCC 471, the Supreme Court held that:
Even where a candidate truthfully discloses a concluded case, the employer retains the right to consider the candidate’s antecedents and is not obligated to make an appointment.
The alleged offence was directly tied to morality and your moral character, and you suppressed this material fact from your employer when filing your application.
Merely being acquitted in a criminal case does not automatically qualify you as fit for appointment to a given position. The trial court granted you an acquittal based on the benefit of doubt.
Given these circumstances, the High Court is unlikely to direct the employer to consider your application for appointment in the education department, where the moral character of a teacher is expected to be of the highest standard. Your appointment is cancelled by the employer in violation of law.