Madras High Court Overturns Constable's Candidature Cancellation Over Participation in Student Protest Against NEET Exam
He had only exercised his fundamental right to protest by participating in the protest organized by his fellow students, stressed the judge.
The Madras High Court recently overturned the decision of the Superintendent of Police, Tenkasi to reject a candidate for the Grade-II Constable position citing his involvement in a criminal case.
The bench of Justice L. Victoria Gowri observed that the concerned case pertained to a student protest in 2022 against the NEET examination in which the petitioner had participated.
The judge stressed that the case which was filed for the protest had already been quashed by a single judge bench of the high court in a petition in another student's petition stating that it was only a protest and it could not have any criminal implication.
She pointed out that despite such quashing, the respondent authorities cancelled the petitioner's candidature stating that the persons who are acquitted under the benefit of doubt or hostility of complaint are to be treated as involved in a criminal case and therefore, the petitioner will not be considered for appointment as per Rule 14(b) of TNSPSS Rules or Rule 13 of TNPSS Rules.
"However, the petitioner was neither acquitted on the benefit of doubt or hostility of the complainant, but the crime which was registered as against him in an earlier stage and never culminated in the filing of a charge-sheet and it was closed on the basis of the High Court order," Justice Gowri underscored.
She opined that the respondent authorities had failed to consider the fact that there were no other criminal antecedents as against the petitioner and this particular crime had nothing to do with any criminal implication as far as the petitioner was concerned.
"He had only exercised his fundamental right to protest by participating in the protest organized by his fellow students and definitely, it will not have any implication as to the nature of the job for which he has applied to as Grade-II Police Constable," held the judge.
In view of the same and on the basis of the order passed by the high court earlier, the high court quashed the order passed by the Superintendent of Police, Tenkasi.
And subsequently, court directed the respondents to issue an appointment order to the petitioner and send him for training to the post of Grade-II Police Constable with effect from the date of original selection within a period of twelve weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the present order.
Case Title: Arunkanth v. Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board and Others