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The penalty was imposed on the officer after it was found that he had consumed alcohol before the incident and was aware that the woman's husband, who was a colleague of the officer, was out of town for election duty in West Bengal
The Bombay High Court recently refused to quash a penalty imposed on a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officer who knocked on a woman’s door late at night to borrow lemons.
The division bench of the high court, comprising Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice MM Sathaye, heard a plea filed against the action taken by the officer's superior between July 2021 and June 2022, imposing a penalty for his misconduct.
The CISF officer's salary was reduced by his superior for three years, during which he would also not receive an increment.
The penalty was imposed on the officer after it was found that he had consumed alcohol before the incident and was aware that the woman's husband, who was a colleague of the officer, was out of town for election duty in West Bengal.
On the intervening night of April 19 and April 20, 2021, the CISF officer knocked on the door of the woman, who was his neighbour in the official headquarters.
The woman, who was staying with her 6-year-old child, became afraid and asked the CISF officer to leave, expressing concern as her husband was not at home. Subsequently, the CISF officer left the premises.
In his plea, the CISF officer contended that he had knocked on the woman's door due to a medical emergency, seeking lemons.
However, the division bench, in its order, deemed the reason provided by the officer as preposterous, stating that asking for lemons due to a medical emergency was not a credible explanation.
“Knocking on neighbour's door knowing that the man in the house is absent, and the house was occupied by a lady with her six-year-old daughter and that too for a frivolous reason of getting a lemon for so called medical emergency of stomach upset, is preposterous to say the least,” the court said.
The bench also observed that such conduct is certainly unbecoming of an officer of the CISF, and the intention of the officer is not found to be as genuine and clear as alleged.
Therefore, the high court dismissed the plea of the CISF officer.
Case title: Arvind Kumar vs Smt Laxmi Sanjay Nikam & Ors
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