# Bench of the High Court in *Amarbir Singh & Ors v. State

- **Citation:** [2014] 6 S.C.R. 383
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 2014-05-23
- **Case number:** Civil Appeal Nos. 5589-5605 of 2014
- **Bench:** Dr. 8.5. Chauhan, A.K. Sikri
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/bench-of-the-high-court-in-amarbir-singh-ors-v-state-30064
- **Pages:** 37

## Headnote

Service law:
A
B
Recruitment -:: Appointment made in Punjab Civil C
Service, Executive Branch and Allied Services Branch as also
judicial appointments - Selection process found to be tainted
and vitiated - Cancellation of the appointments made -
Justification of - Held: Candidates selected with unfair and
illegal means cannot have the audacity to say that they should
be reinstated in service and allowed to continue till their D
appeals are decided - In any case, having found that they
are tainted candidates and their entry into public service was
soiled, decision to terminate their services perfectly justified.
Recruitment -
Appointment made in Punjab Civil E
Service, Executive Branch and Allied Services Branch as also
judicial appointments - Entire selection process not found to
be tainted and vitiated - Cancellation of all the appointments
made - Challenge to - Matter remitted to High Court for
consideration afresh - High Court accepting the Committee
F
report that entire selection process to be vitiated, dismissed
the writ petitions of tainted and non-tainted candidates
challenging termination ·- As regards non-tainted candidates
it was found that the process of selection itself is a result of
manipulations carried out by a we/I-planned scheme of G
deception, forgery and fraud, thus, selection process
cancelled - Segregation of non-tainted candidates from
tainted candidates - Permissibility of - Held: Once it was
383
H
384
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2014] 6 S.C.R.
A accepted that some of the candidates were innocent, who
entered the service by virtue of their merit and _not because
of any extraneous considerations and these candidates
should be segregated from tainted candidates - In order to
work out the equities and to do complete justice, judicial
8
officers found to be untainted to continue in service -
Untainted candidates allowed to join the duties forthwith -
However, the intervening period during which they remained
out of service not be counted for seniority or any other benefit.
- They would be given benefit of service rendered by them
C earlier.
Appointments were made in the Executive Class-I,
Allied Services Branch as also of judicial officers. It is
alleged that the Chairman of Punjab Public Service
Commission took bribe for making the appointments.
D FIRs were· iodged against him. He was prosecuted under
the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
Some of the officers of the Executive Branch and Allied
Services of the Punjab Civil Service were also implicated.
Thereafter, services of the direct recruits, Executive
E Class-I and II as also of all the judicial officers, recruited
in the same period were terminated. Aggrieved persons,
belonging to Executive, Allied Services as well as Judicial
Branches, filed writ petitions in the High Court. The Full
Bench of the High Court in *Amarbir Singh & Ors. v. State
F of Punjab & Ors. accepting the submission of the State
Government that it was not possible to segregate the
tainted candidates from untainted ones, confirmed the
action of the State Government terminating the services
of all the officers of PCS Executive Branch and Allied
G Services Branch as well as the judicial officers, since the
selection process was tainted and vitiated, and dismissed
the writ petitions. Aggrieved, officers whose services
were terminated filed appeals. This Court decided the
same in ** lnderpreet Singh Kah/on & Ors. v. State of Punjab.
H The Court holding that the submission of the State
JOGINDER PAL & ORS. ETC. v. STATE OF PUNJAB 385
Government that it was absolutely impossible for it to A
separate the innocent candidates from the tainted ones
cannot be accepted; and the High Court was not right in
applying the principle of 'mass cheating cases', and
remitted the matter to the High Court for consideration
afresh. Thereafter, a Committee of three ~udges of the B
High Court segregated the tainted candidates from the
I
non-tainted candidates selected to the executive post by
t

## Text

_Characters 0–39,983 of 69,605. This is a partial read: ask again with offset=39983 for what follows._

[2014] 6 S.C.R. 383
JOGINDER PAL & ORS. ETC.
v .
. STATE OF PUNJAB & ORS.
(Civil Appeal Nos. 5589-5605 of 2014)
MAY 23, 2014
[DR. 8.5. CHAUHAN AND A.K. SIKRI, JJ.]
Service law:
A
B
Recruitment -:: Appointment made in Punjab Civil C
Service, Executive Branch and Allied Services Branch as also
judicial appointments - Selection process found to be tainted
and vitiated - Cancellation of the appointments made -
Justification of - Held: Candidates selected with unfair and
illegal means cannot have the audacity to say that they should
be reinstated in service and allowed to continue till their D
appeals are decided - In any case, having found that they
are tainted candidates and their entry into public service was
soiled, decision to terminate their services perfectly justified.
Recruitment -
Appointment made in Punjab Civil E
Service, Executive Branch and Allied Services Branch as also
judicial appointments - Entire selection process not found to
be tainted and vitiated - Cancellation of all the appointments
made - Challenge to - Matter remitted to High Court for
consideration afresh - High Court accepting the Committee
F
report that entire selection process to be vitiated, dismissed
the writ petitions of tainted and non-tainted candidates
challenging termination ·- As regards non-tainted candidates
it was found that the process of selection itself is a result of
manipulations carried out by a we/I-planned scheme of G
deception, forgery and fraud, thus, selection process
cancelled - Segregation of non-tainted candidates from
tainted candidates - Permissibility of - Held: Once it was
383
H
384
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2014] 6 S.C.R.
A accepted that some of the candidates were innocent, who
entered the service by virtue of their merit and _not because
of any extraneous considerations and these candidates
should be segregated from tainted candidates - In order to
work out the equities and to do complete justice, judicial
8
officers found to be untainted to continue in service -
Untainted candidates allowed to join the duties forthwith -
However, the intervening period during which they remained
out of service not be counted for seniority or any other benefit.
- They would be given benefit of service rendered by them
C earlier.
Appointments were made in the Executive Class-I,
Allied Services Branch as also of judicial officers. It is
alleged that the Chairman of Punjab Public Service
Commission took bribe for making the appointments.
D FIRs were· iodged against him. He was prosecuted under
the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
Some of the officers of the Executive Branch and Allied
Services of the Punjab Civil Service were also implicated.
Thereafter, services of the direct recruits, Executive
E Class-I and II as also of all the judicial officers, recruited
in the same period were terminated. Aggrieved persons,
belonging to Executive, Allied Services as well as Judicial
Branches, filed writ petitions in the High Court. The Full
Bench of the High Court in *Amarbir Singh & Ors. v. State
F of Punjab & Ors. accepting the submission of the State
Government that it was not possible to segregate the
tainted candidates from untainted ones, confirmed the
action of the State Government terminating the services
of all the officers of PCS Executive Branch and Allied
G Services Branch as well as the judicial officers, since the
selection process was tainted and vitiated, and dismissed
the writ petitions. Aggrieved, officers whose services
were terminated filed appeals. This Court decided the
same in ** lnderpreet Singh Kah/on & Ors. v. State of Punjab.
H The Court holding that the submission of the State
JOGINDER PAL & ORS. ETC. v. STATE OF PUNJAB 385
Government that it was absolutely impossible for it to A
separate the innocent candidates from the tainted ones
cannot be accepted; and the High Court was not right in
applying the principle of 'mass cheating cases', and
remitted the matter to the High Court for consideration
afresh. Thereafter, a Committee of three ~udges of the B
High Court segregated the tainted candidates from the
I
non-tainted candidates selected to the executive post by
the PSC and concluded that the entire processes of
selections to the premier executive post was carried out
by a well-planned scheme of deception, forgery and c
fraud and, therefore, deserved to be set aside in their
entirety. The H!gh Court accepted the report and treating
the entire selection process to be vitiated, dismissed the
writ petitions. Cases of the petitioners found to be tainted
candidates, after the scrutiny by the Committee, were 0
dismissed. However, even in respect of non-tainted
candidates, the High Court hetd that it was permissible
for the Government to cancel the entire selection process,
once it is found that the process of selection itself is a
result of manipulatioqs carried out by a well-planned E
schem.e of deception, forgery and fraud. Hence the·
instant, app'e'als.
Partly allowing the appeals, the Court
.
HELD: 1. The candidates who were selected with
F
unfair and illegal means cannot have the audacity to say
that they should be reinstated in service and allowed to
continue till their appeals are decided. In any case, having
found that they are tainted candidates and their entry into
public service was soiled, the decision to terminate their G
services becomes perfectly justified. In respect of these
appellants, the High Court found that FIRs were
registered against them and they definitely carried a trace,
stain or blemish that they were tainted. FIRs were
registered when during investigation the Vigilance H
386
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2014] 6 S.C.R.
A
Bureau recorded statements of 'S', 'JS' and 'RS' under
Sections 161 and 164 Cr.P.C. The modus operandi of
conducting the manipulations in the written examination
was disclosed by them. The High Court rightly covered
these persons as tainted persons. Therefore, all these
B appeals are dismissed, except the appeal filed by 'RS',
inasmuch as against him no case is registered as he is
ultimately found innocent. [Para 14] [403-A-D, G; ~04-B]
2.1. The submission for the appellants that the
mandate of lnderpreet Singh Kah/on was limited to one
C aspect only, namely, to segregate the cases of tainted
candidates from non-tainted ones, if it was possible; that
after this task was successfully accomplished by the
Committee, there was no occasion to go into the second
aspect, which was not part of any direction of this Court
D in lnderpreet Singh Kah/on; that the findings on two
aspects are self-contradictory; and that once it was
accepted that some of the candidates were innocent, who
entered the service by virtue of their merit and not
because of any extraneous considerations and these
E
candidates should be segregated as well, such a finding
to the effect on the second aspect that the entire selection
process was vitiated could not be arrived at, is accepted.
The two conclusions of the High Court appear to be
antithetical. Once it is found that segregating tainted from
F
non-tainted is possible and is achieved also, other
conclusion is incompatible with the first one.[Para 24, 25]
[409-G-H; 410-A-D]
2.2. In lnderpreet Singh Kahlon's case the appeals
were filed against the Full Bench judgment in Amarbir
G Singh where the Court had held that the action of the
Government in cancelling the entire selection process
was justified. This very conclusion of the Full Bench was
challenged by the appellants in /nderpreet Singh Kah/on
with specific plea that it was not a case for cancelling the
H entire selection process and, in the first instance, the
JOGINDER PAL & ORS. ETC. v. STATE OF PUNJAB 387
Court should have attempted to find out as to whether
cases of the candidates who were tainted could be
segregated from those who were unblemished. The court
was convinced with the submission. While setting aside
the judgment and remanding the case back, ttie Court
went to the extent of holding that by clubbing together
tainted as well as non-tainted persons, two unequal
classes were clubbed together and it amounted to
violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India.
It wai:; also held that no attempt was made in this
direction, namely, whether there was a possibility of
s~gregating the two classes of persons. The Court found
that as the relevant records were still available a fair
investigation into the whole affair was possible. It
becomes crystal clear that the concern of the Court was
that for the misdeeds of some candidates, honest and
meritorious candidates should not suffer. Therefore,
endeavour should be made to segregate the tainted
candidates from those who were without any stigma and
had been selected because of their sheer merit and not
on account of any illegal considerations. [Para 26, 28]
[410-E-H; 411-A; 412-F]
2.3. The issue of entire selection process having
been vitiated would have arisen only if the findings of the
Committee were that it was not possible to distinguish
the cases of tainted from the non-tainted ones and there
was a possibility that all of them would have got the
benefit of wrong doings of 'S' and his accomplices.
Fortunately for these appellants, it is not so as they have
been found innocent. The appellants get ensconced,
earning a safe place, once they are removed from the
category of nefarious persons. Though the tainted
candidates have rightly received their comeuppance, but
the innocent persons cannot be punished with them.
Thus, the fallibilistic conclusion of the High Court cannot
be accepted. [Para 29] [414-F-H; 415-A]
A
B
c
D
E
F
G
H
388
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2014] 6 S.C.R.
A
2.4. The reasons given by the High Court in the
impugned judgment, in support of the conclusion that the
entire process is to be treated as vitiated are the same
which were placed earlier before the High Court by the
Government in Amarbir Singh's case and they were very
8 much before this Court as well when the judgment in
lnderpreet Singh Kah/on was rendered. The reasons
given pertain to the conduct and role of 'S' and his
accomplices who had taken money/bribes from some of
the candidates or had given undue favour to some other
C candidates because of other influences. The material
discussed is the allegations in various FIRs and
statements of 'JS', a confident and tout of 'S' (who had
become approver-in the criminal case), and others
recorded under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal
0 Procedure, 1973 and the cases in the criminal trial.
However, even after noticing these very reasons, this
Court had held that those who are innocent cannot be
punished because of the misdeeds of 'S' in showing
favour to other tainted candidates.[Para 30] [415-8-E]
E
2.5. There is another reason to hold that these
persons who have come up clean, meaning thereby, who
have entered the service by passing the examination on
their own merits, should be allowed to continue in the
Government service. The Court had not approved the
F recommendation of the High Court, on the basis of which
the Government had acted, in respect of the judicial
officers whose services were also terminated. It is not
necessary to state in detail the reasons given by the
Court while condemning the action of terminating the
G services of the judicial officers, which was taken in undue
haste. The Court had also remarked that all these judicial
officers were subjected to viva voce/interview test as well,
which was conducted as per Rule 17(a)(iii) of the Punjab
Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 1970, and
H no breach of the aid Rule had been pointed out. The
JOGINDER PAL & ORS. ETC. v. STATE OF PUNJAB 389
Committee which interviewed these judicial officers A
included a Judge of the High Court as well. The Court
categorically observed that there may be some cases
where marks had been given for extraneous
considerations, but only because there was such a
possibility, the same by itself, without analysing more,
B
may not be a ground for arriving at a conclusion that the
entire selection process was vitiated. The direction was
given to consider the entire matter afresh.[Para 31) [415F-H; 416-A-C]
2.6. It was a fractured report where two Judges of the
Committee were of the view that entire selection process
was vitiated and one Judge had appended his dissent
thereto on the ground that only those who were found
C·
to be tainted and were segregated by the Committee 0
should be dismissed from service and not the nontainted officers. No doubt, while upholding the directions
of the High Court, this Court made it clear that it was not
to be construed as giving seal of approval to the
judgment of the High Court. At the same time, the Court
also stated, in so many words, that in order to work out E
the equities and to do complete justice, that it was proper
to allow those judicial officers to continue in service who
were found to be untainted.[Para 32) [416-F-H]
2.7. In the first instance, it is the State which had
F
taken a decision to cancel the entire selection process.
However, after the remand order passed in lnderpreet
Singh Kahlon's case in the exercise done by the
Committ~e screening out the tainted from non-tainted
candidates, the State came forward and showed its G
willingness to take back these candidates who were nontainted and were selected on the basis of their merit. A
specific affidavit to this effect was filed in the High Court
as also this Court Once those untainted officers, who
H
390
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2014] 6 S.C.R.
A
were appointed under the same environment, have been
allowed to continue, there is no reason to deprive this
benefit of such recourse to the PCS (Executive Branch)
and Allied Services. The High Court recorded that 66%
cases were found to be of the persons given
s appointment who were tainted, which influenced the
entire selection process. However, it was placed before
this Court that the said percentage is worked out by
taking the cases of direct recruits and nominated
candidates together. If the figures are separately taken,
c out of 93 direct recruits, 76 have joined and only 10 are
found to be tainted. In fact, the percentage of such tainted
candidates in nominated category was much higher, i.e.·
80%. It was, thus, argued that the cases of direct recruits
cannot be taken along with those in nominated category,
0
who influenced the decision in their matter as well. This
is also a supportive and important fact which goes in
favour of these appellants viz. the non-tainted direct
recruits.[Para 33] [418-C-H]
2.8. The judgment of the High Court is set aside in
E
respect of these persons with the direction that the
appellants be allowed to join the duties forthwith.
However, the intervening period during which they
remained out of service shall not be counted for seniority
or any other benefit. However, these persons shall be
F
given the benefit of service rendered by them earlier·
when they actually worked, for the purpose of seniority
and future promotion, etc.[Para 34] [419-A-C]
Amarbir Singh & Ors. v. State of Punjab & Ors., 2003 (5)
G SLR 398 - referred to. lnderpreet Singh Kah/on & Ors. v.
H
State of Punjab 2006 (1) Suppl. SCR 772: (2006) 11 SCC
356; Sirandip Singh Panag v. State of Punjab 2008 (4) RSJ
288; High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh v.
State of Punjab & Ors. (2010) 11 SCC 684 - referred to.
JOGINDER PAL & ORS. ETC. v. STATE OF PUNJAB 391
Case Law Reference :
2003 (5) SLR 398
Referred to
2006 (1) Suppl. SCR 772 Referred to
Para 3, 5,
26, 30
Para 5, 6,
A
9, 10, 16,
B
200B (4) RSJ 288
c2010) 11 sec 684
Referred to
Referred to
22, 24,26,
30, 31, 32,
33
Para 32
Para 32
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal Nos.
5589-5605 of 2014.
c
From the Judgment and Order dated 31.05.2013 in CWP
0
No. 14429/2002, 13943/2002, 8430/2002, 8440/2002, 8441/
2002' 8442/2002, 8449/2002, 10796/2002, 14358/2002'
19062/2002, 11362/2008, 8558/2002, 8584/2002, 8589/2002,
8431/2002, 8540/2002 and CWP No. 14189/2002 of the High.
Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh.
,t:
WITH
C.A. Nos. 5606, 5608, 5609-5611, 5612, 5613, 5614, 5621,
5622, 5623 and 5624 of 2014.
Raju Ramachandran, Gurminder Singh, Mahabir Singh,
F
Ajay Bansal, AAG., Kavita Wadia, Shashank Tripathi, Manoj
Swarup, Akshat Goel, Karan Kapper, Rohit Kumar Singh,
Gurminder Singh Chahal, R.C. Kaushik, S. Uday Kumar Sagar,
Bina Madhavan, Praseena Elizabeth Joseph ( For Lawyer's
Knit & Co.), Aman Arora, Subhasish Bhowmick, Shalu Sharma,
G
Rahul Gupta, Kuldip Singh, Gaurav Yadav, Jagjit Singh
Chhabra for the appearing parties.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
A.K. SIKRI, J. 1. One Mr. Ravinderpal Singh Sidhu was
H
392
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2014] 6 S.C.R.
A the Chairman of the Punjab Public Service Commission (for
short, 'PSC') between 1996-2002. During his tenure as the
Chairman, some appointments were made in the Executive
Class-I between 1998-2061, by way of direct recruit as well
as by nomination, as provided in the Rules. Appointments of
B judicial officers were also made in four batches within the same
period. On getting tip to the effect that for making such
appointments Mr. Sidhu had received bribe from many people,
raids were conducted in his house sometime in the year 2002,
on more than one occasion. A huge sum of money, i.e., Rs. 16
c crores (approximately), was recovered from his custody and
from other relatives of Mr. Sidhu. This led to lodging of the First
Information Reports (FIRs) against him, leading to criminal
prosecution primarily under the provisions of the Prevention of
Corruption Act, 1988. In these Fl Rs, some of the officers of the
0 Executive Branch and Allied Services of the Punjab Civil
Service (for short, 'PCS') were also implicated. Smelling rat in
the appointments in the PCS Executive Branch and Allied
Services Branch, as well as judicial appointments, result sheets
of the nominated candidates and the answer sheets of PCS
Executive Branch and Allied Services Branch were seized. On
E going through the same, Vigilance Bureau of the State of Punjab
informed the Chief Secretary, Punjab that most of the
examinations held during the tenure of Mr. Sidhu were tainted.
This led to spate of actions taken by the State Government. In
the first instance; the services of all officers in the category of
F Nominated Executive Officers, who were about to complete
their period of probation, were terminated on May 23, 2002.
This was done by passing orders of. termination simpliciter
purporting to be in terms of Rules, i.e., by terminating the
probation. Thereafter, vide orders dated August 24, 2002,
G services of the direct recruits, Executive Class-I and II were
terminated by way of dismissal on the premise that crim.inal
prosecution had been launched against Mr. Sidhu. So far as
judicial officers are concerned, the Chief Justice of the High
Court constituted a Committee to go into the allegations and
H also the news items appearing in the media allegirrg that wards
JOGINDER PAL & ORS. ETC. v. STATE OF PUNJAB 393
[A.K. SIKRI, J.)
of some sitting Judges of the F>l.t{ljab and Haryana High Court A
had been favoured by the Chairman of the PSC. The said
• Committee submitted its report recommending cancellation of
all the appointments of the judicial officers who were recruited
in four batches from 1998 till 2002. This report was accepted
· by the Full Court and was sent to the Government. Initially, the
13
Government of Punjab raised a query as to what was the basis
for recommendation of cancellation of appointments of the 1998
batch candidates, as selection of that batch was not in question.
Another Committee was constituted and on the basis of report,
which was approved by the Full Court, recommendation was c
reiterated. As a consequence, the services of all these judicial
.
.
-
officers also came to be terminated.
2. All these persons, who services had been terminated,
belonging to Executive, Allied Services as well as Judicial
Branches, challenged these actions by filing writ petitions in the
D
High Court. We describe hereinbelow the manner in which the
cases of Executive and Allied Services Branches were dealt
with and the outcome thereof, as in the present case we are
concerned with the officers of PCS Executive Branch and Allied
Services Branch." However, since the judgment rendered by this
E
Court in respect of termination of judicial officers has some
bearing on the present case, we shall take note of the outcome
of the cases filed by the judicial officers as well.
3. Insofar as PCS Executive Branch and Allied Services
Branch are concerned, a large number of writ petitions were
filed by almost all the officers whose services were terminated;
be it direct recruits or nominated officers. The matter was
referred to the Full Bench, having regard to the importance of
F
the question of law involved. The Full Bench presided by the
G
then Chief Justice of the High Court and two senior most
Judges, after hearing these petitions at length, decided those
writ petitions by judgment dated July 07, 2003, which is
reported as Amarbir Singh & Ors. v. State of Punjab & Ors.,
2003 (5) SLR 398. By means of this judgment, the Full Bench
H
394
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2014] 6 S.C.R.
A , dismissed all the writ petitions, thereby confirming the action
of the State Government terminating the services of all the
officers of PCS Executive Branch and Allied Services Branch
as well as the judicial officers. As per the High Court, the
decisi~n of the Government to terminate the services was
B because of the reason that the entire selection process in
respect of PCS Executive Branch and Allied Services Branch
was so fainted and vitiated, the Government was left with no
alternative but to declare the entire selection as null and void.
The case set up by the State of Punjab was that during his
c tenure as Chairman of PSC from September 1996 to March
26, 2002, Mr. Sidhu completely usurped the powers of the
Commission unto himself, to the exclusion of all other members,
and manipulated the system for ensuring the selection of thos,e
who had paid money or came with the recommendations. It had
0
relied upon the statements of Mr. Jagman Singh, a confident
and tout of Mr. Sidhu (who had become approver in the criminal
1
case), who disclosed the modus operandi adopted by Mr.
Sidhu. It was pointed out that during the investigation it was
revealed that question papers and answer scripts were
smuggled out of the headquarters of the PSC. At times, blank
E answer sheets were given to the prospective candidates and
special instructions were given to the examiners towards higher
marks to favoured candidates and at the same time less marks
were awarded to more meritorious candidates. By accepting
the bribes to favour such persons, Mr. Sidhu had amassed
F assets worth Rs. 22 crores. It was averred that the entire
selection process was completely vitiated and it was not
possible to separate the meritorious candidates from others
and, therefore, a decision was taken to terminate all the
G
appointments.
4. The High Court, after examining the matter, accepted
the aforesaid argument of the State Government to the effect
that it was not possible to segregate the tainted candidates
from untainted ones, leaving no option for the State Government
H but to cancel the entire selection process. Few judgments of
JOGINDER PAL & ORS. ETC. v. STATE OF PUNJAB 395
[A.K. SIKRI, J.] ·
this Court were relied upon to hold that in such circumstances,
when the ~election process is found to be vitiated, the
Administration had a right to cancel the selection process and
while doing so it was not necessary to adhere to the principles
of natural justice, which had no role to play in matters like these.
5. Aggrieved ·by the aforesaid judgment in Amarbir
Singh's case (supra), all these officers whose services were
terminated approached this Court. Special leave was granted
in all these petitions and civil appeals were heard and decided
A
B
by this Court, with lead case known as lnderpreet Singh c
Kah/on & Ors. v. State of Punjab, (2006) 11 SCC 356. Since
this judgment is sheet anchor of the appellants before us, in the
second round of litigation, we would like to take note of this
judgment in some detail.
6. It can be easily guessed, as it is so obvious, that the
case of the appellants in lnderpreet Singh Kahlon's case
(supra) was that the action of the State Government and the
stamp of approval of the High Court in cancelling the entire
selection process was impermissible. The appellants therein
had argued that there was no basis for such a finding, namely,
the entire selection process had been vitiated and it was
necessary for the Government to separate cases of tainted
persons from non-tainted ones and to take action against only
those who were tainted. It was argued that by not undertaking
such an exercise and clubbing together tainted as well as nontainted persons, two unequal classes were clubbed together
thereby meting. out discriminatory treatment qua those who were
without· blemish and it amounted to violation of Articles 14 and
16 of the Constitution of India. The appellants in the said case
D
E
F
had also argued that while holding that entire selection process
G
was vitiated by corruption and cancelling the same after
appointees had put in few years of service, the High Court had
applied the principle of 'mass cheating cases', which principle
was applicable only in the cases of examination in academic
institutions and not the examination for the purpose of public
H
396
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2014] 6 S.C.R.
A employment. Pertinently, this Court generally accepted the
aforesaid submissions of the appellants. From the reading of
the judgment, one can discern the following principles:
(a) An appointment made in violation of Articles 14 and
B 16 of the Constitution of India would be void. It would be a nullity.
Since the services of the appellants were terminated not in
terms of the rules but in view of the commission of illegality in
the selection process involved, the applicability of the relevant
provisions of the statutes as also the effect of the provisions of
Article 311 of the Constitution need not be considered.
c
(b) Before a finding that an appointment has been made
in violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution can be
·arrived at, the appointing authority must take into consideration
the foundational facts. Only when such foundational facts are
D established, can the legal principles be applied. When the
services of employees are terminated inter alia on the ground
that they might have aided and abetted corruption and, thus,
either for the sake of probity in governance or in public interest
their services should be terminated, the court must satisfy itself
E that conditions therefor exist. The court while setting aside a
selection may require the State to establish that the process
was so tainted that the entire selection process is liable to be
cancelled. In a case of this nature. thus. the question which
requires serious consideration is as to whether due to the
F misdeed of some candidates, honest and meritorious
candidates should also suffer.
(c) A distinction exists between a proven case of mass
cheating for a board examination and an unproven imputed
charge of corruption where the appointment of a civil servant
G is involved. Only in the event it i.s found to be impossible or
highly improbable that the tainted cases can be1separated from
the non-tainted cases could en masse orders o\ termination be
issued. Both the State Government as also th~ High Court in
that view of the matter should haMe made all endeavours to
H
JOGINDER PAL & ORS. ETC. v. STATE OF PUNJAB 397
[A.K. SIKRI, J.]
segregate the tainted from the non-tainted candidates.
A
(d) Cases which may arise where the selection process
is perceived to be tainted may be categorised in the following
manner:
(i)
Cases where the "event" has been inves~gated.
(ii)
Cases where CBI inquiry took place and was
completed or a preliminary investigation was
concluded.
B
(iii)
c
Cases where the selection was made but
appointment was not made.
(iv)
Cases where the candidates were also. ineligible
and the appointments were found to be contrary to
law or rules.
D
If the services of appointees who had put in a few years
of service were terminated, compliance with three principles at
the hands of the State was imperative viz.: (1) to establish
satisfaction in regard to the sufficiency of the materials collected
so as to enable the State to arrive at its satisfaction that the
selection process was tainted; (2) to determine the question
that the illegalities committed went to the root of the matter,
which vitiated the entire selection process. Such satisfaction
as also the sufficiency of materials were required to be
gathered by reason of a thorough investigation in a fair and
transparent manner; (3) whether the sufficient material present
enabled the State to arrive at a satisfaction that the officers in
majority had been found to be part of the fraudulent purpose
or the system itself was corrupt.
(e) Once the necessary factual findings as enumerated
above are arrived at, or it is found impossible or highly
improbable to separate tainted from untainted cases, all
appointments traceable to the officers concerned could be
cancelled. But admittedly, in the present case, although there
E
F
H
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A
had been serious imputations against Ravinderpal Singh Sidhu
being at the helm of the affairs of the State Public Service
C0mmission, all decisio.ns made by the Commission during his
tenure are yet to be set aside.
8
7. Applying these principles to the facts of the case, the
Court found that no candidate for the year 2001 had been
appointed and, therefore, persons who were selected in that
year were on a different footing as merely a person comes in
the selected list, he has no right to be appointed on that ground.
However, held the Court, those who had already been
C appointed and had completed about three years of service,
some of them had even passed departmental test and some
were given higher responsibilities and had even completed the
period of probation or nearing the completion thereof and were
working to the satisfaction of the authorities cqncerned,
D different yardsticks were to be applied while terminating their
services. As a matter of fact. the Court found that apart from
inferences drawn on certain facts and in particular the
circumstances enumerated by the High Court, it was difficult to
accept the contention of the State Government that it was
E absolutely impossible for it to separate the innocent candidates
from the tainted ones. In the opinion of the Court, by appointing
an independent scrutiny committee it was still possible to sift
the evidence and separate tainted candidates from the innocent
ones. The Court also recorded that relevant records were still
F
available and had not been destroyed, which included question
papers, answer sheets and other documents. Since these
records were still available, a fair investigation into the whole
affair was still possible. Such an exercise was, therefore,
needed when it had not been found that all the appointments
G were made on extraneous considerations, including monetary
consideration. It was, thus, held. that the High Court was not right
in applying the principle of 'mass cheating cases' in the instant
case. The Court concluded the matter in the following manner:
H
(a) If services of appointees who had put in a few years of
.JOGINDER PAL & ORS. ETC. v. STATE OF PUNJAB 399
[A.K. SIKRI, J.]
service are to be terminated, compliance with following A
principles by State is imperative: (1) sufficient materials are to
be collected, to be gathered by thorough investigation in fair
and transparent manner; (2) illegalities committed must go to
the root of the matter, vitiating entire selection process; and (3)
the appointees/officers in majority must be found to be part of B
the fraudulent purpose or the system itself must be found to be
corrupt.
(b) In the present case, above principles not having been
adhered to and since it could not be said that a fair investigation
into the suspected selection process to the Punjab PCS for the C
years 1998-2001 was an impossible task, or despite availability
of a large part of the records a thorough investigation.had been
made so as to arrive at a satisfaction that the entire selection
process suffered from a large-scale fraud, High Court was not
right in applying the principle of mass cheating cases in the D
instant case and approve the en masse terminatign of services
of the appellants by the State.
(c) Impugned orders of State Government and High Court
were set aside. Matters were remitted to High Court for E
consideration afresh, status quo to be maintained in the
meantime. High Court was directed to constitute two
independent Scrutiny Committees, one relating to the executive
officers and the other to the judicial officers. Various directions
were given for functioning of said Committees and expeditious
F
disposal of the matters, and State was directed to file report in
this Court in each individual case. It was further directed to
unearth the scam and spare no officer involved in wrongdoing,
howsoever high he may be.
8. Dealing with the case of judicial officers whose services G
were terminated, the Court took the view that they had not been
fairly treated by the High Court and deserved better treatment.
In their cases also the Court directed fresh inquiry. That aspect
we would discuss in detail at the appropriate stage as in the
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[2014] 6 S.C.R.
A
present case we are not concerned with the cases of judicial
officers.
9. After the judgment in lnderpreet Singh Kah/on's case
(supra), a Committee of three Judges of the High Court was
8
constituted with the specified task to separate the tainted
candidates from the non-tainted candidates selected to the
executive post by the PSC. The said Committee undertook the
mammoth and painstaking task with deep scrutiny of the case
of each and every candidate. This Committee submitted its
report dated February 08, 2007. It is pertinent to note that the
C Committee could achieve the task of segregating tainted
candidates from the innocent ones, meaning thereby the
Committee could pinpoint those candidates who had got
selected were selected for oblique considerations_,At meant that
others against whom no such taint was fotind had been
D
selected on their own merit and performance in the' written
examination as well as viva voce. That is the reason that these
candidates were put in non-tainted category. However, even
when the Committee was able to achieve this result, as
mandated by this Court in lnderpreet Singh Kahlon's case
E
(supra), the Committee also went into another aspect, namely,
whether it could be stated that the process of selection could
be described as fraudulent, tainted and arbitrary. Looking into
the matter from this angle, the Committee came to the
conclusion that the entire processes of selections to the premier
F
executive post was carried out by a well-planned scheme of
deception, forgery and fraud and, therefore, deserved to be set
qside in their entirety. The final analysis of the report dated
February 08, 2007 is as under:
G
1-J
"Firstly, it is possible to infer that in the processes of
selection to which the present investigation is limited, there
were 40 tainted candidates. This inference would,
however, be .subject to an opportunity to be afforded to
them during the course of re-hearing of the matter on the
judicial side, in terms of the direction of the Apex Court in
lnderpreet Singh Kahlon's case (supra).
JOGINDER PAL & ORS. ETC. v. STATE OF PUNJAB 401
[A.K. SIKRI, J.]
Secondly, the process of selection under reference (within
the ambit of investigation of the Vigilance Department), can
be described as fraadulent, tainted and arbitrary. The said
processes of selection were clearly rifle and abounding
with manipulations, carried out by a well planned scheme
of deception, forgery and fraud; executed for showing
favour, or for consideration. And as such, the entire
processes of selection, to the premier executive posts,
which were subject matter of investigation at the hands of
the Vigilance Department, deserve to be set aside in their
entirety."
10. In the light of this report, the original writ petitions were
reheard, as a result of remand of these cases to the High Court,
as directed in lnderpreet Singh Kahlon's case (supra). Matter
was referred to the five Judge Bench of the High Court. The
High Court has accepted the report thereby giving its approval
to that part of the report as well which has treated the entire
selection process to be vitiated. As a result, all the writ petitions
are dismissed again vide judgment of the Full Bench rendered
on May 31, 2013.
11. Insofar as those cases wehre the petitioners were
found to be tainted candidates, after the scrutiny by the
Committee, the obvious result was that the writ petitions were
dismissed on this ground. However, even in respect of nontainted candidates, the High Court has held that it was
permissible for the Government to cancel the entire selection
process, once it is found that the process of selection itself is
a result of manipulations carried out by a well-planned scheme
of deception, forgery and fraud.
12. We will proceed to discuss the cases of tainted and
non-tainted candidates seperately.
TAINTED CANDIDATES
13. The particulars of candidates who are facing criminal
A
B
D
E
F
G
trial are as under:
H
402
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2014] 6 S.C.R.
A
s.
Case No.
Name
Remarks
No
1.
CA Nos. 5606-5608/2014 Jiwan Kumar PCS (EB)
Garg Kamal
Direct
B
Kumar
.
2.
CA No. 5622/2014
P.S. Sodhi
PCS
Nominated
3.
CA Nos. 5614-562112014 O.P. Verma
c
lnderdeei;i
Kahl on
Jasbir Singh
Toor
H.L. Bansal
PCS
D
Parvinderpal
Nominated
Singh
Jarnail Singh
Balraj Kaur
Rajinder
E
Sidhu
4.
CA No. 5623/2013
Bhupinderjit
PCS
Singh
Nominated
14. As far as these cases are concerned, they hardly pose
F
any challenge. As it is specifically found that the aforesaid
persons have indulged in unfair means and have been selected
either by paying bribe or because of other extraneous reasons
and not on their merit, their writ petitions have been rightly
dismissed by the High Court. It was argued by Mr. Manoj
G Swarup, learned counsel appearing for these appellants, that
those who are facing trial may be acquitted after investigation.
Likewise, some of those who are even convicted, their appeals
are pending and there is a possibility that their appeals are
allowed thereby setting aside the conviction. Therefore, such
a decision to terminate their services could not have been taken
H at this stage.
JOGINDER PAL & ORS. ETC. v. STATE OF PUNJAB 403
[A.K. SIKRI, J.]
This argument is totally unimpressive and does not hold
any water. Such candidates who were selected with unfair and
illegal means cannot have the audacity to say that they should
be reinstated in service and allowed to continue till their appeals
are decided. In any case, having found that they are tainted
candidates and their entry into public service was soiled, the
decision to terminate their services becomes perfectly justified.
In respect of these appellants, the High Court has found that
FIRs have been registered against them and they definitely
carry a trace, stain or blemish that they were tainted. Fl Rs were
registered when during investigation the Vigilance Bureau
recorded statements of Mr. Sudhu, Jagman Singh and Randhir
Singh Gill under Sections 161 and 164 Cr.P .C. The modus
operandi of conducting the manipulations in the written
examination was disclosed by them. Question papers were
given to Mr. Jagman Singh to be shown to the candidates who
were to appear in the written examination conducted by the
PSC. The same were to be collected from the official residence
of Mr. Sidhu, i.e. House No.