HC directs ITBP to reinstate constable recruited in 2008

Jaipur: Providing relief to an ITBP constable who was terminated from service in 2008 for "concealing" a criminal case as a juvenile, a single bench of Rajasthan High Court Tuesday ordered his reinstatement and directed authorities to award him consequential benefits of service.
Hearing a petition by Constable Suresh Kumar, the court of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand said, "Children should be given an opportunity for a new beginning by freeing them from the burden of their past. For the welfare of a child, the burden of past mistakes must be lifted, offering him a fresh start to thrive, free from the weight of stigma."
Kumar had argued that he was appointed ITBP constable in 2008, but his services were terminated on May 6 in the same year on grounds that he concealed information about his involvement in a criminal case when he was 14-year-old.
Counsel the petitioner, Sarthak Rastogi, said Kumar was a juvenile at the time when the case was registered against him and he was released on admonition since he was a juvenile on Nov 16, 2004.
Appearing on behalf of ITBP, counsels Devesh Kumar Bansal and CP Sharma, said Kumar deliberately concealed his criminal background, which reflected on his character. "This was the reason why the authorities decided to terminate his services," Bansal said.
However, Justice Dhand, in his Feb 11 order, uploaded on Tuesday, said under the Juvenile Justice Act, a juvenile cannot be punished for his past crimes. "The petitioner should not face discrimination due to his past and should be given an opportunity for a fresh start. His services should be restored, and he should be re-appointed with all the consequential benefits, and the compliance of this order should be made in three months," Justice Dhand said.