Disqualification of a person from government job for identifying his offence which was of little importance is a serious violation to the constitutional rights of a citizen, said the HC.
In a case, a central industrial security force recruit Manoj was denied as he was once charged for beating up a villager but was acquitted later. But, the court noticed that he was just 18 years old when he was charged with the offence of beating up a person in village. Also, the offence was committed along with other community members which indicate that Manoj was under some pressure from community to do so.
As there were no specific guidelines on whether such people may be deprived of job or not, it was suggested that:
- If the acquittal was not an honorable one, the screening committee must seek into the materials provided by the police at the time of investigation.
- In case of honorable acquittal, there must be no denial to government job.
All the witnesses were examined by the prosecution in case of Manoj. Hence his acquittal was honorable and he must be benefited by providing him the job with all seniority benefits.
A person cannot be held irresponsible, ineligible or harmful for a particular government job if he was charged for an offence but then acquitted honorably.
The court has directed the government to draft clear policies on offences leading to disqualification of candidates from government jobs. Further, the court has advised the government to frame a screening procedure to determine factors like judgment capacity, dependability and emotional stability for the process of selection.