HC declines relief to judge terminated on corruption charges

Dismissing a petition filed by Metropolitan Magistrate Gautam Kant Nimaan of the Rohini district court, a division bench of Justices A K Sikri and Manmohan Singh said the termination order is not punitive "...It could be seen that the petitioner (Niman) was not able to complete his probation satisfactorily".

"The order of termination is a fall out of his unsatisfactory service adjudged on the basis of his overall performance and the manner in which he conducted himself...," the bench said. Niman challenged the lieutenant governor’s order on the grounds that he was removed arbitrarily, which was against the principle of natural justice.

He said his service could not be terminated through a simple order as he had completed two years of probation period and also successfully completed one year's extension thereafter since his appointment in April 2007.

Claiming that his continuation of service could be deemed to be confirmed, Nimaan said, "I was a confirmed officer of Delhi Judicial Services and could not be eased out of service by a simple order of termination...".

Taking the ground that he was not given an opportunity to make his stand clear, the petitioner said on June 18, he had received a letter from the district judge with the High Court Registrar's notice seeking explanation and the LG issued a notification on August 18 terminating his service.