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Three Bihar judges dismissed for ‘immoral act’

Last Updated 22 December 2020, 13:47 IST

Three judges in Bihar have been dismissed from service for their ‘immoral act’. A notification in this regard has been issued stating that their dismissal will be effective from February 12, 2014.

The three judges of the lower court -- Komal Ram, Jitendra Nath Singh and Hari Nivas Gupta -- were caught by Nepal Police with women in a hotel in the Himalayan Kingdom in 2013. The matter, however, came to light when a Nepalese newspaper ‘Udghosh’ spilled beans about how the three judicial officers from Bihar had been apprehended by Nepal Police after the latter caught them red-handed with women in Metro Hotel.

Though the judges pleaded ‘not guilty’, the then Chief Justice of Patna High Court, Rekha M Doshit, approved their dismissal for their ‘undesirable activity’. The lower court judges then filed a petition against the ruling. In May 2015, the high court constituted a five-member panel, which later submitted its report. Following this, the Registrar General of the Patna High Court, in September 2020, recommended that the judges be dismissed from service.

According to government sources, the judges were earlier reportedly let off by the Nepal police and their evidence (of stay in the hotel) destroyed. The matter was, however, brought to the notice of the Union Home Ministry in India which ordered a separate probe in 2014.

“The incident occurred in a foreign country and direct evidence is not available. Hotel Metro destroyed the relevant pages from its register. However, from the materials available (and their mobile location), the involvement of three judicial officers is proved on the principle of preponderance of probability. They have tarnished the reputation of Bihar State Judiciary and displayed a lack of moral character and integrity,” the inquiry report said.

Eventually, the General Administration Department (GAD) in Bihar on Monday issued a notification in this regard stating that their dismissal will be effective from February 12, 2014, and they would be deprived of all post-retirement benefits.

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(Published 22 December 2020, 13:47 IST)

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