Not disclosing criminal case 'moral turpitude': HC

BHOPAL: If a candidate hides information about a criminal case against him while applying for a job, it amounts to " moral turpitude ", regardless of whether he is acquitted later, Madhya Pradesh HC ruled, while upholding the cancellation of a job offer to an applicant at the Itarsi ordnance factory .

The petitioner, Ram Bhuvan Yadav from Azamgarh in UP, applied for the post of turner (semi-skilled) in response to advertised vacancies in the factory. He appeared in a written test in May 2016 and then a trade aptitude test. He cleared both and made it to the merit list.

After the results were declared, he submitted documents and a self-attestation form. During scrutiny, the office of Azamgarh collector notified the ordnance factory that a criminal case under Sections 254 (delivering an altered coin as genuine), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) of IPC was pending against him in the UP district. Yadav was acquitted on Sept 23, 2016, but he had not mentioned the case and trial at the time of application. Also, when asked if he faced any criminal charges in the past, he had replied "no".

Yadav appealed in Central Administrative Tribunal against the cancellation, but his petition was rejected. Then, he filed a petition in MP HC.