Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh high court has modified the punishment awarded to an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) constable, substituting his removal from service with compulsory retirement along with consequential benefits, while upholding findings of misconduct in a disciplinary matter arising out of consensual illicit relations with his a senior officer’s wife.The division bench comprising Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin Chander Negi allowed the ITBP constable’s letters patent appeal against the judgment of single judge bench.The appealant was appointed in ITBP in 1999 and later posted at Leh, where he served as a security assistant to an assistant commandant at his house. During this posting period, allegations arose that the constable developed illicit consensual relations with the wife of his assistant commandant at the behest of the latter. The assistant commandant filed divorce petition. Following a complaint lodged by the woman in March 2009, alleging sexual misconduct and video recording of objectionable content by her own husband, disciplinary proceedings were initiated under provisions of the ITBP Act, 1992.A summary force court found the constable guilty, primarily relying on admitted facts regarding the relationship and his failure to report the matter within the chain of command. He was removed from service in 2010, and his departmental appeal was rejected in 2011. The single judge bench of the high court had earlier upheld this decision in 2018.Before the division bench, the appellant ITBP constable challenged only the proportionality of the punishment. The court stated that once the superior officer had been held guilty of preparing the compact disc with the help of his laptop and forcing his junior (constable) to enter into the acts of misdemeanor with his wife, the constable cannot be imposed a grave punishment of removal from service. The assistant commandant was awarded the sentence of forfeiture of past two years service for the purpose of pension. The division bench also noticed that the wife of the assistant commandant knowingly maintained physical relations for a considerable period with the constable.The high court also noted that at the time of the incident, adultery was a civil wrong under Section 497 of the IPC, though later struck down in 2019, and that service discipline standards in armed forces demand higher moral conduct.Discipline and character are the backbone of the ITBP and all serving the force are expected to act and behave in a manner befitting their respective positions, underlined the court. “As a member of the disciplined force, the petitioner was expected to have control over his mind and passion. The petitioner has given an indecent burial to self-control, diligence and strength of will power,” said the court. MSID:: 131879215 413 |
