The Patna High Court has ruled in favor of reinstating a CRPF constable, Sumit Kumar, who was previously dismissed for being absent from duty to care for his ailing mother diagnosed with cancer. The court directed that Kumar be reinstated with all due benefits within three months, overturning his dismissal from 2013.
Justices P B Bajanthri and Alok Kumar Pandey, of a division bench, issued the order on August 13, citing a “sympathetic approach” towards Kumar’s circumstances. The decision challenges a prior ruling from a single bench of the High Court in 2019, which had upheld the dismissal based on a departmental inquiry that declared him an absconder for his absence from May 23, 2012, to December 4, 2012 — a total of 196 days without sanctioned leave.
The court’s decision comes after Kumar appealed the single bench’s decision, arguing that his absence was due to the dire health condition of his mother, for which he had sought extensions of leave through official posts. The division bench noted that Kumar’s situation was compelling and his absence should not be equated with other unauthorized absences, given the serious health crisis his mother was facing.
This ruling not only reinstates Kumar but also instructs that his previous unauthorized absence be treated as leave, recognizing the human aspect behind bureaucratic procedures.
