Unjust to treat each non-disclosure of criminal case by job aspirant as disqualification: SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said broad-brushing every non-disclosure of a criminal case by a job aspirant as a disqualification will be unjust and will tantamount to being completely oblivious to the ground realities prevailing in this great, vast and diverse country.

A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and K V Vishwanathan said it can never be a one-size-fits-all scenario in such cases.

"There cannot be a 'hard and fast' and a 'cut and dried rule' that, in all circumstances, non-disclosure of a criminal case in the verification form is fatal for a candidate's employment," the bench said.

The court set aside the Allahabad High Court's judgments and allowed an appeal filed by Ravindra Kumar whose appointment as constable in UP Provincial Armed Constabulary was cancelled in 2005 over non-disclosure of a criminal case in the verification form.

The appellant got acquitted even before filling up the verification form.

The bench felt the candidate, while filling up verification form, must have been in a deep dilemma as there was an imminent prospect of losing his employment.

It also noted the police inquiry before joining the service found that his character and reputation were good and that no complaints were found against him. Still his appointment was cancelled for false misrepresentation.

After examining overall facts and scenario, the bench directed the authorities to appoint the appellant with all consequential benefits. However, he would not get salary to the period to which he did not serve, the bench said.

Various factors like the nature of the office, the timing and nature of the criminal case; the overall consideration of the judgement of acquittal; the nature of the query in the application/verification form the contents of the character verification reports; the socio economic strata of the individual applying; the other antecedents of the candidate; the nature of consideration and the contents of the cancellation/termination order should be considered in such cases, the court explained.