In a significant ruling, the Allahabad High Court has reinstated a sub-inspector, Gulab Singh, previously dismissed on bribery charges. Justice Salil Kumar Rai’s bench overturned the dismissal order, highlighting the necessity of departmental proceedings even in the presence of substantial evidence under Rule 8(2)(b) of the 1991 Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Police Officers (Punishment and Appeal) Rules.
The case stems from an incident where Singh, stationed at Ecotech Police Station in Gautam Buddha Nagar, was allegedly caught accepting a bribe of four lakh rupees from an accused, Rajeev Sardana, during an investigation. The Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested Singh red-handed in this public bribery case, leading to his immediate dismissal by his superiors who argued that no further investigation was necessary given the circumstances.
However, the court found this direct dismissal, without the benefit of a departmental inquiry or a show-cause notice, to be illegal. This decision reinstates Singh to his position, underscoring the importance of procedural integrity in disciplinary actions within the police force.
