CISF Sleeping while on Duty to Guard Amounts to the Highest Degree of Indiscipline – Bombay HC

Case: Prahlad Bhaurao Thale vs Union of India

Court: A division bench of Justices Mangesh Patil and Sandeep Marne 

Recently, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court held that a member of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) sleeping while on duty to guard the main gate of a security establishment amounts to the highest degree of indiscipline. 

In the case at hand, a CISF head constable filed a petition challenging the disciplinary committee's order to compulsory retire him after he was found sleeping while on duty.

On being confronted, the petitioner misbehaved and besides the charge of sleeping on duty and misbehaving with superior officers, he was also charged for questioning about the quantity of ration issued in the CISF Mess.

A disciplinary inquiry was conducted and the petitioner participated in the same. The inquiry officer submitted his report holding all three charges to be proved.

The punishment imposed on the petitioner on November 26, 2013, was upheld by the appellate authority as well as the revision authority.

He then moved the High Court challenging the same.

According to the HC, far from expressing remorse for his misconduct, the petitioner engaged in subordinate misbehavior with the officer who discovered him sleeping on duty. The Court refused to accept the petitioner's contention that he served 30 years in the force before being compelled to retire with six years left to serve. With these observations, the bench upheld the penalty imposed by the authorities.