HYDERABAD: In a significant order, a division bench of the Hyderabad High Court has made it clear that the candidates seeking public employment more particularly in police force have to fairly disclose their antecedents, including their involvement in criminal cases. Failure to disclose the facts or found given wrong information, the concerned authorities have got the power to reject their applications or cancel their selection made.
“Assessment of suitability of a candidate to a disciplined force is judged not only with reference to his previous antecedents, but also on the basis of his propensity to remain honest in the service. The candidate, who tells a deliberate lie when specifically asked, cannot be taken even with a pinch of salt and he is wholly unworthy of being drafted into the police department. Furnishing of false statement would even dwarf his earlier conduct of his involvement in a criminal case”, the bench observed.
The bench of Justice CV Nagarjuna Reddy and Justice G Shyam Prasad was upholding the decision of State level police recruitment board of AP state in cancelling the candidature of some of the candidates due to their false representations about their past involvement in criminal cases. The bench was allowing the petitions filed separately by the recruitment board against the order of the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal which has set aside the board orders cancelling the candidature of respondent selectees due to suppression of their involvement in criminal cases.
The tribunal while referring to the nature of offences, held that they were not heinous like murder, rape, involving moral turpitude and that even if their involvement was disclosed, they would not have been disentitled for appointment. After hearing the case and perusing the case records and various judgments of the Supreme Court, the bench held that non-disclosure or submitting false information would assume significance and that by itself may be ground for employer to cancel candidature or to terminate services.
Meanwhile, quoting the Supreme Court observation in Mehar Singh case, the bench said, “The police force is a disciplined force. It shoulders the great responsibility of maintaining law and order and public order in the society. People repose great faith and confidence in it. It must be worthy of that confidence. A candidate wishing to join the police force must be a person of utmost rectitude. A person having criminal antecedents will not fit in this category.”