Syed FIDA HUSSAIN KAZMI vs INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF POLICE, PUNJAB and others
The petitioner sought leave to appeal against the judgment of the Punjab Service Tribunal upholding his dismissal from service. During the hearing, the petitioner's counsel did not press the petition on merits but requested the conversion of the penalty of dismissal into compulsory retirement, highlighting mitigating circumstances including the complete loss of the petitioner's eyesight and having children of marriageable age. The core legal question was whether the penalty of dismissal was disproportionate to the proved misconduct in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case. The Supreme Court converted the petition into an appeal and partly allowed it, holding that the extreme penalty of dismissal did not commensurate with the nature of the misconduct. Consequently, the Court modified the departmental and Tribunal orders, converting the penalty of dismissal from service into compulsory retirement. The key principle laid down is that appellate forums may modify a disproportionate departmental penalty of dismissal to compulsory retirement in view of severe humanitarian and mitigating circumstances.
- Whether the Supreme Court can convert a penalty of dismissal from service into compulsory retirement based on mitigating humanitarian circumstances?
- Does the penalty of dismissal from service always commensurate with misconduct regardless of the peculiar facts and circumstances of a case?
ORDER
' The learned counsel for the petitioner on the last date of hearing, frankly stated that he did not press the petition on merits and sought indulgence of this Court for conversion of the extreme penalty of dismissal into compulsory retirement from service. It was also brought to our notice that in the meantime the petitioner had completely lost his eye-sight and had children of marriageable age.
2. Even today the learned counsel for the petitioner has repeated the same request. The learned Assistant Advocate-General, Punjab as well as the Inspector (Legal), Sahiwal have also been heard. We have carefully gone through the orders passed by the departmental authority as well as by the Tribunal. In our view, the extreme penalty of dismissal of the petitioner from service did not commensurate with the nature of his misconduct in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case.
3. Therefore, this petition is converted into appeal and the same is partly allowed. Consequently, the impugned judgment, dated 15-8-2002 passed by the Punjab Service Tribunal in Appeal No,641 of 2001 as well as the order, dated 12-10-2000 passed by the Deputy Inspector-General of .Police, Multan Range, are modified to the extent that the penalty of dismissal of the petitioner from service is converted into compulsory retirement from service. However, there shall be no order as to costs.