Thirteen years after he lost his job for allegedly taking Rs 400 as bribe from a “smuggler” to allow him to cross over to Bangladesh, a BSF constable has been ordered to be reinstated by the Delhi High court.
A division bench of justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Manmohan Singh ordered reinstatement of Umesh Prasad with all consequential benefits, setting aside the Summary Security Force Court’s June 4, 1999 order, which held him guilty and dismissed him under the BSF Act.
The court gave the verdict accepting Prasad’s argument that he was implicated in the case besides he never pleaded guilty and his signature was not taken on his plea of guilt.
The bench relied on the BSF court records pertaining to the recording of evidence (ROE) and accepted Prasad’s claim that ROE was prepared behind his back as he did not cross-examine any witness and his signatures were not there in the ROE.
Published 26 August 2012, 19:27 IST