LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA& ORSversusTRIVENI SHARAN MISHRA

                    (2014] 14 S.C.R. 693


  LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA& ORS                    A
                             v.
                TRIVENI SHARAN MISHRA
              (Civil Appeal No. 4335 of 2007)
                  SEPTEMBER 2, 2014.                          B
      [SUDHANSU JYOTI MUKHOPADHAYA AND
                PRAFULLA C. PANT, JJ.]
     Setvice Law:
      Removal from service - On the ground that the C
employee gave a false declaration of his educational
qualifications at the time of his recruitment - Post of peon -
Maximum qualification prescribed as IX pass - Respondent
though pursuing his M.A. (previous) at. the time of recruitment,
gave his educational qualification as XI- High Court directing D
his reinstatement and to consider imposition of penalty as
was done in the case of another similarly situated employee
- Held: High Court has rightly taken note of the fact that
another similarly situated candidate wa_s awarded
punishment of two increments with cumulative effect, and E
rightly directed the employer to consider imposition of similar
penalty after reinstatement of writ petitioner - Prescribing
maximum educational qualification for the post of peon,
disapproved - Constitution of India, 1950-Arts. 14 and 16.
     The Senior Divisional Manager of the appellant-Life F
Insurance Corporation invited applicati9ns for the post
of Peon through Employment Exchange. As regards
educational qualifications it was prescribed that a
candidate should be IX pass and a candidate with more
than 50% marks in XII or a graduate or a post-graduate . G
would not be considered. The appellant, in his
application, mentioned his qualification as Higher
Secondary (Xlth old) and also made a declaration that
he did not possess any higher qualification. However,
                                                         H
                          693
694      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2014] 14 S.C.R.


A   after a couple of years of his appointment, it was found
    that he was a graduate and at the time he applied for the
    post he was pursuing M.A. (previous). As such, he was
    removed from the service. However, the High Court, on
    the writ petition filed by the respondent, found that the
B . criterion that a candidate should not possess a higher
    qualification than IX standard was violative of Art. 14 of
    the Constitution of India and further that the punishment
    awarded to the respondent was discriminatory, as
    another similarly situated employee was inflicted with a
c penalty of stoppage of two increments with cumulative
    effect. The High Court, therefore, directed the respondent
    to be reinstated and to consider to impose upon him the
    penalty similar to the other candidate.
         Dismissing the appeal, the Court
D      HELD : 1.1- It is not disputed that the respondent
  was already graduate on the date he submitted his
  application for the post of Peon, and the declaration
  made by him at the time of seeking employment that he
  possessed. no other qualification was incorrect.
E However, the High Court has rightly relied on the law
  laid down by this Court in Mohd. Riazu/ Usman Gani's
  case* wherein it has deprecated the criteria of maximum
  qualification for the post of peon. [Para 8 and 11]
  [700-D-E; 702"C-D]
F
        *Mohd. Riazul Usman Gani and Ors. v. District &
        Sessions Judge, Nagpur and Ors. 2000 (1)
       SCR 771 : (2000) 2 sec 606 - relied on.
         Kera/a Solvent Extractions Ltd. v. A. Unnikrishnan
G        and Anr. (2006) 13 SCC 619 - distinguished.
        1.2 For mentioning less qualification to secure the
  job, similarly situated another employee was let off by
  the appellant by awarding punishment of stoppage of
  increments for two years with cumulative effect. The High
H Court has rightly taken note of said fact while allowing
  LIFE INSURANCE.CORPORATION OF INDIA& ORSv.                    695
             TRIVENI SHARAN MISHRA

the writ petition, and directing the employer to consider A
the imposition of similar penalty after reinstatement of
the writ petitioner. There is no sufficient reason to
interfere with the impugned order passed by the High
Court. [Para 13-14][703-E-G]
      Kendriya Vidya/aya Sangathan and Ors v. Ram         B           .
     Ratan Yadav 2003 (2) SCR 361 : (2003) 3 SCC
     437 - held inapplicable .
               . CASE LAW REFERENCE
(2006) 13 sec 619           distinguished         para 9        c
2000 (1) SCR 771            relied on             para 11
2003 (2) SCR 361           . held inapplicable    para 12
     CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No.
4335 of 2007.
                                                                D
       From the judgment and order dated 06.01.2006 passed
 by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur in Writ
.Petition No. 542 of 2004 (SY.
      B. B. Sawhney, Sr. Adv, and Ms. Indra Sawhney, Advs.
for the Appellants.                                             E
     Rajesh Singh, Adv. for the Respondent.
     The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
     PRAFULLA C. PANT, J.
       1. This appeal is directed against the judgment and order F
dated 6'h January, 2006 passed by the High Court of Madhya
Pradesh in Writ Petition No. 542 of 2004 whereby the writ
petition has been allowed, and the writ petitioner is directed
to be reinstated in service. It is further directed by the High
Court that the appellant may consider to impose the penalty G
against the present respondent as was awarded in the case
of Oaluram Patidar, another employee of the appellant-
Corporation.
    2. Brief facts of the case are that Senior Divisional
Manager of Life Insurance Corporation of India, at Shahdol in   H
696       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  (2014) 14 S.C.R.


A   order to recruit peons (sub-staff) invited applications from the
    qualified candidates through Employment Exchange. Pursuant
    to that, respondent - Triveni Sharan Mishra submitted his
    application. As per the qualification prescribed by the appellant,
    a candidate was required to have passed Standard IX, but the
B candidates who have passed Standard XII and have secured
    50% or more marks. Graduates or Post-graduates were not
    to be considered for the post. The respondent (writ petitioner)
    in his application (Annexure P-3) for the above post mentioned
    his qualification "Higher Secondary (Xl'h old)". At the end of
C the application dat.ed 20 1h, January, 1996, a declaration was
    made by the candidate (writ petitioner) that he did not possess
    any other qualification except the one mentioned in the
    application. The respondent-writ-petitioner appears to have
    got selected for the post of Peon. However. after couple of
D years of his service. it was found that he possessed Bachelor's
    Degree and he was pursuing M.A(previous) in Economics at
    the time he applied for the post as above. On this, the
    respondent was served with the charge-sheet by the appellant .
    and departmental enquiry was initiated. On conclusion of the
E departmental enquiry, the respondent (writ petitioner) was
    found guilty of misconduct. Consequently, he was served with
    the show-cause notice as to why he be not removed from the
    service. On consideration of the reply submitted by the
    respondent, the Senior Divisional Manager, L.1.C. of India,
F Shahdol vide his order dated 30 1h October, 2000 (Annexure
    P-11 ), removed the respondent - writ petitioner from the
    service. The said order was challenged by the respondent
    before the Departmental Appellate Authority i.e. Zonal Manager,
    Life Insurance Corporation of India, Delhi. Upon consideration
G of the appeal submitted by the respondent against imposition
    of penalty of removal in terms of Regulation 39(1 )(f) of the UC
  . of India (Staff) Regulations, 1960 (hereinafter to. be referred to
    as 'the Regulations') passed by the Senior Divisional Manager,
    Shahd ol, the Appellate Authority concurred with the view taken
H by the said Authority, and dismissed the appeal on 181h
    February, 2003.
  LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA &ORS v.                       697
   TRIVENI SHARAN MISHRA[PRAFULLAC. PANT, J.]

       3. Aggrieved by said order, the respondent filed writ A
petition No. 542 of 2004(s) before the High Court. The High
Court after taking action and hearing the parties found that the
qualification fixed by the present appellant that the candidate
should not possess the higher qualification than the IX'h
Standard, is violative of Article14 of the Constitution of India. It B
further found that similarly situated another employee with the
department was inflicted with the penalty of stoppage of
increments for two years with cumulative effect, as such the
punishment awarded to the writ petitioner was discriminatory.
Accordingly, the writ petition was allowed by the High Court.       c
Aggrieved by the said decision of the High Court, this appeal
was preferred by the employer- Life Insurance Corporation
of India.
     4. We have heard learned counsel for the parties and
perused the papers on record.                                       D
     5. The qualification prescribed by the appellant for the
post of peon, as mentioned inAnnexure P-1 reads as under:
     "b) Qualifications A pass in ST.IX. However Candidates
     who passed XII Std. and have secured 50% or more               E
      marks, graduates or post graduates will not be
      considered.

             Xx   xx    xx   xx      xx."
     6. The charge-sheet served on the writ petitioner         is   F
reproduced below:
                       " CHARGE SHEET
            You, Shri Triveni Sharan Mishra, SR no.704768,
     ·sub Staff, Divisional Office Shahdol are hereby charged
     uundm                                                  ·       G
    · 1. That, in your application dated 20.01.1996 for the post
      of Sub-Staff, submitted to Shahdol Divisional Office of
      UC of India, you have mentioned your educational
      qualification as Higher Secondary (11th old), whereas your
      educational qualification at that time was of Graduation      H
698   SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   [2014] 14 S.C.R.


A     level, which was more than the desired qualification for
      the post of Sub-Staff.
      2. That you have got appointment for the post of Sub-
      Staff by fraudulently making false statement regarding
      the educational qualification, whereas you had taken
B     admission as a regular student in Govt. Post Graduation
      College Shahdol in B.A.(Final) in academic year 1989-
      90 and your Roll no. was 48717 to appear in the
      examination. And in year 1990-91 also you had taken
      admission as a Regular student in M.A.(Previous)
c     Economics &to appear in the examination your Roll No.
      was 12696, which was deliberately suppressed by you.
      3. That in the declaration given on 22.03.1996 atthetime
      of interview also, you have suppressed your actual
      educational qualification and fraudulently produced the
D     duplicate Transfer Certificate no.79, of Government
      Raghuraj Higher Secondary School no.1, Shahdol in
      support of your having passed XI th standard.
      ( The provisional list of the documents on the basis of
      which the charges are to be proved is enclosed)
 E
              Your aforesaid act, is in contravention to rules of
      the Corporation and prejudicial to good conduct, thereby
      violating the provisions of Regulations 21, 24 and 39(1)
      of the aforesaid (Staff) Regulations 1960, for which one
 F    or more of the penalties specified under Regulation 39( 1)
      (a) to (g) can be imposed on you.
             However, before I proceed further in the matter, I
      hereby give you an opportunity to either admit or qeny
      the aforesaid charges in writing. In case you admit the
G     charges, a statement of admission and in the event of
      your denying the charges, a statement of denial, together
      with the list of documents by which. and a list of witnesses
      through whom you propose to defend your case may be
      submitted t9 the undersigned within a period Of 15 days
H     from the date of receipt of this charge sheet.
  LIFE INSURANCE CQRPORATION OF INDIA& ORS v.                       699
   TRIVENI SHARAN MISHRA[PRAFULLAC. PANT, J.]

            In case your written statement, as mentioned A
     above, is not received within the stipulated period or if it
     is found to be unsatisfactory, further proceedings shall .
     ensue without any reference to you."
     7. The reply given by the writ petitioner to above charge-
sheet to the Department is quoted below:                            B
     'To
         The Divisioal Manager l/C.
         UC of India
         Divisional Office
         Shahdol
                                                                    c
         M.P.
                                  Through Prciper Channel
     Dear Sir,
     RE: DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS UNDER. D
     REGULATION 39 OF THE UC OF INDIA (STAFF)
     REGULATIONS, 1960AND CHARGESHEET DATED
     29.02.2000, ISSUED TO ME ..
     With reference to above charge sheet, my submission
     is as under :                                                  E
     1. That I was an unemployed person, and I was in dire
     need of employment. Therefore, when I got information
     regarding vacancy for the post of Sub-Staff from
     Employment Exchange Office, I immediately applied for
     the post of Sub-Staff.                                         F
     2. It is true that the desired qualification for the post of
     Sub-Staff was XI'" pass along with other documents.
     3. Since ! was XI'" passed, hence I had mentioned my
     educational qualification as Xllh, as the additional higher G
     qualification was not a constraint in fulfilling the
     responsibilities for the applied post, I had not disclosed
     it. By doing so I did not intend to suppress my additional
     qualification.
                                                                    H
700       SUPREME COURT REPORT$                   [2014] 14 S.C.R.


A        4. After having been appointed on the post of Sub-Staff,
         I have served the Corporation with utmost integrity,
         honesty &capacity. And my higher qualification has been
         useful in performing my duties towards the Corporation.
         Thus I have not violated the regulations 21 & 24.
B        5. If I have unknowingly violated any rules & regulations,
         I regret for the same. I have never intended to violate the
         regulations.
          With my aforesaid submission, I humbly request you to
          take a sympathetic view in my case and absolve me from
c         the above referred charges.
                                         Yours faithfully, .
                                    Triveni Sharan Mishra
                                  Sub-staff, Divisional Office,
                                   Shahdol .R.No.704768."
D
           8. It is not disputed before us that the respondent was
    already gmduate on the date he submitted his application for
    the post of Peon, and the declaration made by him inAnnexure
    P-3 at the time of seeking employment that he possessed no
E other qualification was incorrect. The question before us is as
    tD whether the qualification as mentioned above is violative of
    Article 14 of the Constitution of India or not, and as to whether
    awarding punishment of removal to the writ petitioner, is
    discriminatory in the light of the one awarded to similarly
F . situated one Daluram Patidar i.e. only punishment of stoppage
    of increments for two years with cumulative effect.
         9. Mr. BB. Sawhney, learned senior counsel appearing
  on bel1alf of the appellants heavily relied in the case of Kera la
  Solvent Extractions Ltd. Vs. A. Unnikrishnan and Anr.
G (2006) 13 sec 619, and it is pointed out that in said case the
  maximum educational qualification for a "badli" workman was
  8'h standard, and the respondent of said case had made false
  declaration on which services of said workman were
  terminated. This Court in said case quashed the award of the
H Labour Court dated 23'd March, 1992 setting aside the order
  LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA& ORS v.                     701
   TRIVENI SHARAN MISHRA [PRAFULLA C. PANT, J.)

of termination dated 3'0 March, 1989 of the workman, and          A
further set aside the order passed by the High Court of Kerala
upholding the award of the Labour Court.
     10. We have carefully gone through the aforesaid case
law. In said case issue involved was not whether or not
maximum_qualification can be fixed for a Class-IV/Grade-D B
employee, nor was in said case the employer appears to be
either State or instrumentality of the State. What this Court
has held in Kerala Solvent Extractions Ltd. (Supra) is that
the Court should not be led b-y misplaced sympathy.
Paragraphs 9 and 10 of the said judgment are re-produced C
below:
      "9. Shri Vaidyanathan, learned senior counsel for the
      appellant, submitted, in our opinion not without
      justification, that the Labour Court's reasoning bordered ·
                                                                  0
      on perversity and such unreasoned, undue liberalism and
      misplaced sympathy would subvert all discipline in the
      administration. He stated that the management will have
      no answer to the claims of similarly disqualified
      candidates which might have come to be rejected. Those E
    · who stated the truth would be said to be at a disadvantage
      and those who suppressed it stood to gain. He further
      submitted that this laxity of judicial reasoning will
       imperceptibly introduce slackness and unpredictability
       in the legal process and, in the final analysis, corrode ·
       legitimacy of the judicial process.                        F
      10. We are inclined to agree with these submissions.
      In recent times, there is an increasing evidence of this,
      perhaps well meant but wholly unsustainable tendency
      towards a denudation of the legitimacy of judicial          G
      reasoning and process. The reliefs granted by the courts
      must be seen to be logical and tenable within the
    . framework of the law and should not incur and justify the
      criticism that the jurisdiction of the courts tends to
      degenerate into misplaced sympathy, generosity and
                                                                  H
702       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  [2014] 14S.C.R.


A        private benevolence. It is essential to maintain the
         integrity of legal reasoning and the legitimacy of the
         conclusions. They must emanate logically from the legal
         findings and the judicial results must be seen to be
         principled and supportable on those findings. Expansive
B·       judicial mood of mistaken and misplaced compassion
         at the expense of the legitimacy of the process will
         eventually lead to mutually irreconcilable situations and
         denude the judicial process of its dignity, authority, .
         predictability and respectability".
C        11. In our opinion, in the present case the High Court has
  rightly relied on the law laid down by this Court in Mohd. Riazul
  Usman Gani and Ors. Vs. District & Sessions Judge,
  Nagpur and Ors. (2000) 2 SCC 606 wherein it has
  deprecated the criteria of maximum qualification for the post
D of peons. Relevant parts of para 16 and para 18 of the said
  judgment are quoted herein below:
         "16. In the present case we find that the candidates with
         higher education than Standard VII were completely shut
         out for being considered for the posts of Peons. The
E        Recruitment Rules also provide for promotion. Rule 3(ii)
         we may quote:
         "(ii) The District Judge may promote-
               (a} a Peon, a Watchman, a Gardener, or a
 F                 Sweeper to the post of Bailiff:
               (b} a Peon, a Watchman, a Gardener, a Sweeper
                   ·or a Bailiff to tt\e post of a Regional
                    (Language) Section Writer, an English Section
                    Writer or a Clerk; and
G              (c)   a Peon, a Watchman, a Gardener, a Sweeper,
                     a Bailiff, a Regional (Language) Section
                     Writer, and English Section Writer or a Clerk
                     to the post of Stenographer".
                                Xx xx xx xx xx
 H
  LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA& ORS v.                       703
   TRIVENI SHARAN MISHRA[PRAFULLAC. PANT, J.]

     18. If the appointment of a candidate to the post of Peon      A
     is restricted to his having qualified up to Standard VII he
     will have no chance of promotion to the post of Regional
     Language Section Writer or Clerk ................... ".
      12. However, on behalf of the appellants it is contended
that suppression of material information and making false B
statement to secure the employment, is a serious offence to
attract the dismissal of service. In this connection, learned
senior counsel for the appellants referred to the case of
Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and Ors vs. Ram Ratan
Yadav (2003) 3 SCC 437. But in our opinion, the aforesaid C
case referred on behalf of the appellants cannot be applied to
the present case for the reason that in the said case the
employee had concealed the facts relating to his character
and antecedents. In said case, the employee who was
selected forthe post of a Teacher suppressed the information D
that a criminal case relating to offences punishable under
sections 323, 341, 294, 506-B read with section 34 of Indian
Penal Code was registered against him. As such the facts in
the present case cannot be equated with the case referred.
      13. Fram the papers on record before us, it appears that E
for mentioning less qualification to secure the job, similarly
situated another employee (one Daluram Patidar) was let off
by the Life Insurance Corporation of India by awarding
punishment of stoppage of increments for two years with
cumulative effect We are of the opinion that the High Court F
has rightly taken note of said fact while allowing the writ petition,
and directing the employer to consider the imposition of similar
penalty after reinstatement of the writ petitioner.
      14. Therefore in view of the above discussion, we do not      G
find any sufficient reason to interfere with the impugned order
passed by the High Court. Accordingly, the appeal is
dismissed. No order as to costs.

Rajendra Prasad                                 Appeal dismissed.   H