A lawyer lost his opportunity to become a District Judge after his wife filed a case under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against him. Although he was later acquitted of all charges, the Supreme Court refused to provide any relief, upholding the decision to disqualify him from the position.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court released an advertisement in 2020 inviting applications for the District Judge post through direct recruitment, specifically for eligible advocates. The lawyer, the appellant in this case, applied online and successfully passed both the written and main exams. He was selected under the unreserved category and was asked to appear for a medical test.
However, on July 2, 2018, the Law Department asked the appellant to submit a copy of an FIR related to a case filed by his wife under Sections 498-A, 406, and 34 of the IPC. The appellant had already disclosed this information in his attestation form. Despite this, on September 14, 2018, the Legislative Department deemed him ineligible, and his name was removed from the list of selected candidates.
The lawyer then approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court to challenge this decision, but his writ petition was dismissed. He took his case to the Supreme Court, seeking relief from disqualification, but the Court upheld the decision.
A bench of Hon’ble Justice Ashok Bhushan and Hon’ble Justice MR Shah ruled that the decision by the Exam-Selection Committee and the Appointments Committee to find the lawyer unfit for the post of District Judge was valid. The court emphasized that, at the time of his selection and before his appointment, a criminal case was pending against him, which justified his disqualification.
Even though the trial court later acquitted him, the Supreme Court maintained that the criminal charges at the time of his selection were enough to deem him unfit for the position.
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