In Brief
A recruit was discharged from the Railway Protection Force for suppressing information about a trivial criminal case in his attestation form, despite having been acquitted in that case. The High Court upheld the discharge. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that mere suppression of trivial information does not automatically justify discharge. The Court applied guidelines from Avtar Singh v. Union of India, requiring authorities to consider all relevant circumstances, the nature of the post and duties, and whether the suppressed information materially affects fitness. The appellant was reinstated without arrears but with notional benefits.
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