Supreme Court Annual Digest 2022- Service Law

Acquittal in Criminal Case Disciplinary Proceedings - Acquittal in Criminal Case - The acquittal of the accused in a criminal case does not debar the employer from proceeding in the exercise of disciplinary jurisdiction - In a prosecution for an offence punishable under the criminal law, the burden lies on the prosecution to establish the ingredients of the offence beyond reasonable doubt. The accused is entitled to a presumption of innocence. The purpose of a disciplinary proceeding by an employer is to enquire into an allegation of misconduct by an employee which results in a violation of the service rules governing the relationship of employment. Unlike a criminal prosecution where the charge has to be established beyond reasonable doubt, in a disciplinary proceeding, a charge of misconduct has to be established on a preponderance of probabilities. The rules of evidence which apply to a criminal trial are distinct from those which govern a disciplinary enquiry. (Para 13) State of Karnataka v. Umesh, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 304 : (2022) 6 SCC 563 Disciplinary Proceedings - Effect of Acquittal - An acquittal in a criminal trial has no bearing or relevance on the disciplinary proceedings as the standard of proof in both the cases are different and the proceedings operate in different fields and with different objectives. (Para 10.4) Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation v. Dilip Uttam Jayabhay, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 3 : AIR 2022 SC 238 : (2022) 2 SCC 696 Service Law - Appeal against the High Court judgment which upheld the cancellation of appointment of the appellant on the premise of nondisclosure of criminal case being instituted against him in the year 1997, when he was a juvenile - Allowed - the appellant was a juvenile when a criminal case was registered against him and was also a juvenile when the order of discharge was passed - This was indisputedly a special circumstance indeed which was not taken into consideration by the authority while passing the order of cancellation of his appointment - The seriatim of facts cumulatively indicate that the nature of information which was not disclosed by the appellant, in any manner, could be considered to be a suppression of material information. Umesh Chandra Yadav v. Inspector General and Chief Security Commissioner, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 300 : 2022 (4) SCALE 680 Ad hoc employee Service Law - An ad hoc employee cannot be replaced by another ad hoc employee and he can be replaced only by another candidate who is regularly appointed by following a regular procedure prescribed. (Para 12) Manish Gupta v. Jan Bhagidari Samiti, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 406 : 2022 (6) SCALE 780 Advertisement Service Law - In the event of a conflict between a statement in an advertisement and service regulations, the latter shall prevail - an erroneous advertisement would not create a right in favour of applicants who act on such representation. (Para 20) Employees State Insurance Co. v. Union of India, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 78 : AIR 2022 SC 1017 Age Service Law - The prescription of a rule providing for a minimum age requirement or maximum age for entry into service is essentially a matter of policy - Determination of cut-offs lies in the realm of policy. (Para 25) High Court of Delhi v. Devina Sharma, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 286 : (2022) 4 SCC 643 All India Service Service Law - All India Service is an incident of service. Whether, and if so where, an employee should be posted are matters which are governed by the exigencies of service. An employee has no fundamental right or, for that matter, a vested right to claim a transfer or posting of their choice. (Para 24) S.K. Nausad Rahman v. Union of India, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 266 : AIR 2022 SC 1494 Amendment Service Law - An amendment having retrospective operation which has the effect of taking away the benefit already available to the employee under the existing rule indeed would divest the employee from his vested or accrued rights and that being so, it would be held to be violative of the rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. (Para 47) Punjab State Co. Agri. Bank Ltd. v. Registrar, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 42 : AIR 2022 SC 1349 : (2022) 4 SCC 363 Appointment Service Law - Appointment as Management Trainee (Technical), cannot be compared to the education and appointment of a medical doctor. (Para 12) Chief Executive Officer Bhilai Steel Plant Bhilai v. Mahesh Kumar Gonnade, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 572 : AIR 2022 SC 3356 Service Law - Appointment to senior positions through limited departmental competitive examinations is one through promotion channel - In order to encourage meritorious candidates who may be comparatively junior in service, a window of opportunity is opened through limited departmental examination. Those who pass the examination are entitled to have an accelerated promotion. This process does not change the character...

Supreme Court Annual Digest 2022- Service Law

LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK

Tags