In a significant ruling, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has set aside the termination of a Multi-Tasking Staff employee at the Ordinance Factory in Chanda, who was removed from service for not disclosing a minor gambling offence from 2012. The court held that the offence was trivial in nature and did not warrant such harsh action.
The petitioner, Nitin Sadashiv Khapne, was appointed on compassionate grounds in November 2020. At the time of joining, he submitted an affidavit stating that no criminal case was pending against him. However, it later emerged that he had been fined ₹250 in 2012 under the Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act for playing cards with friends. The factory management issued a termination order in June 2021 for suppressing this information.
The Central Administrative Tribunal upheld the termination, stating that suppression of factual information justified the action. However, the High Court took a different view. Justice Pravin S. Patil, speaking for the bench, noted that the offence was not serious and the punishment-a nominal fine-was imposed eight years before his appointment.
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Referring to the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment in Avtar Singh vs Union of India (2016), the court observed that employers must act judiciously and consider the nature of the offence, the post held, and the context of suppression. “The offence in question was neither heinous nor violent. It was a trivial act of gambling among friends,” the court noted.
The bench also emphasized that the petitioner was a Class-IV employee appointed on compassionate grounds, and his entire family depended on his income. Terminating his service for a minor and old offence was deemed disproportionate.
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The court directed the factory management to reinstate him within 30 days without back wages but with continuity of service and all consequential benefits. The ruling reinforces the principle that not every non-disclosure should lead to automatic termination-especially when the offence is minor, old, and unrelated to the role.
This judgment offers relief to many employees facing similar situations and reiterates the importance of context-sensitive justice in employment disputes.
Case Title: Nitin Sadashiv Khapne vs. Union of India & Ors.
Case No.: Writ Petition No. 53 of 2024
