Orissa High Court directs for reinstating terminated constable

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has directed the State Government to reinstate a person who was discharged from police service way back in 1994 on account falling short in height by one centimetre.

The Court issued the direction on Friday on a petition filed by Dolamani Bishi, who was discharged from service while undergoing training on getting appointment as writer constable after his height was reported to be one cm short of the required 168 cm.

Bishi had joined as writer constable on August 16, 1993 in reserve office, Balangir after being duly selected by a selection committee. On March 14, 1994, he was deputed for nine months of training to Police Training School at Hatibari in Sundargarh. 

Bishi was discharged from service on October 31, 1994 after the principal of the police training school reported that his height was 167 cm. He moved the High Court after Odisha Administrative Tribunal (OAT) rejected his petition against termination of his service.

The division bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice BR Sarangi directed the Government “to reinstate the petitioner in service by condoning the height of one cm, allow him to resume training for left-out period and continue in service as before”.

While quashing Bishi’s termination order and OAT order on the ground that both cannot sustain in the eye of law, the bench ruled that, “As such, by getting appointment and continuing in service and by undergoing training a right has been accrued in favour of the petitioner. Therefore, the same should not have been dislodged in a capricious manner by the authority concerned, as has been attempted to be done in the instant case”.