The Delhi High Court has set aside the termination orders issued against former Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBPF) constable Suresh Kumar Sethi, who had been dismissed due to defective colour vision. The court ruled that his case must be reconsidered under the 2015 medical recruitment guidelines that allow certain posts for candidates with limited colour perception.
Background
Sethi’s journey into the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) has been full of hurdles. He cleared the physical and written tests back in 2015 and was appointed as Constable (GD) in April 2017, despite earlier being noted as having CP-IV grade colour vision. Things turned sour a year later when a fresh medical review again found him unfit. He was served with multiple show-cause notices and eventually removed from service in December 2019.
Sethi approached the High Court several times. While his first petition was dismissed, a Division Bench in February 2020 gave him limited relief—allowing him to apply for redeployment to alternative posts where CP-IV vision standards were acceptable. He duly filed a representation, but the ITBPF rejected it citing the older 2013 guidelines, which mandated dismissal of colour-blind recruits.
Court’s Observations
The Division Bench comprising Justice C. Hari Shankar and Justice Om Prakash Shukla was blunt in its assessment. The judges noted that Sethi was recruited in 2017, well after the 2015 guidelines had come into force. These guidelines specifically permitted CP-IV candidates to work in trades like cook, carpenter, electrician, and others where acute colour identification was not essential.
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“The recruitment of the petitioner took place in 2017 much after the 2015 Guidelines had come into force. Despite his condition being known, the respondents recruited him. Therefore, he was entitled to consideration under those guidelines,” the bench remarked.
The judges further pointed out that the earlier coordinate bench had already directed authorities to consider Sethi’s plea under the 2015 framework. By relying solely on the 2013 rules, the ITBPF effectively nullified the relief granted earlier. “This cannot be permitted when the order itself was never challenged,” the court observed.
Quashing both the orders dated June 17 and July 16, 2020, the court has remitted the matter back to the authorities. It directed the ITBPF to freshly examine Sethi’s case in light of Paragraph 4(e) of the 2015 guidelines, which allows CP-IV candidates to be considered for alternate posts.
Case Title:- Suresh Sethi v. Union of India & Ors., W.P.(C) 3998/2021
