Character Certificate Can't Be Denied Merely Due To Pendency Of Criminal Case: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that a character certificate cannot be denied merely because a criminal case is pending against the applicant.

The bench of Justice Prakash Padia and Justice Vivek Saran held that the pendency of a criminal case under Sections 323, 504 and 506 IPC, by itself, could not be a ground to reject an application for issuance of a character certificate.

“….we are of the opinion that due to pendency of the aforesaid case under Section 323, 504 and 506 IPC, the application for grant of character certificate could not be rejected,”

Petitioner's application for a character certificate was rejected by the District Magistrate, Jalaun at Orai on grounds that Case Crime No.913 of 2018 under Sections 323, 504 and 506 IPC was pending against the petitioner. Petitioner approached the High Court seeking quashing of that order and a direction that his application be considered afresh.

Counsel for the petitioner relied on the Division Bench decision in Anil Kumar v. State of U.P. and others, in which a character certificate had likewise been declined on account of the pendency of a case under Sections 323, 504 and 506 IPC. In that case the refusal was quashed and the Superintendent of Police or the District Magistrate, as the case may be, was directed to issue a certificate in the format set out in the judgment within three weeks of submission of a certified copy of the order.

It was argued that since the application had been rejected before the criminal court passed the order of acquittal, the authority was required to revisit its decision in the light of Avatar Singh v. Union of India, in which the Supreme Court laid down the principles governing the effect of conviction, acquittal and pendency of criminal cases, and of suppression or false disclosure of such information, on employment.

The Court observed that the petitioner had disclosed the criminal case and the legal propositions laid down in aforesaid cases were not disputed. It noted that the State, in its counter affidavit, had taken the stand that the petitioner was entitled to no relief and that the petition deserved dismissal.

Holding that the pendency of the case could not have furnished a ground for refusal, the Court quashed the impugned order and directed the District Magistrate to issue a certificate in the format mentioned in the judgment relied upon.

Accordingly, the writ petition was allowed.

Case Title: Bharat Lal Gupta v. State of U.P. and Another

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