Aishwarya Rathore-
Published on: August 29, 2021, at 11:52 IST
The Supreme Court has ruled that Public Employers, particularly the Police, must take care not to employ criminals while dismissing their violent past as “petty” misdemeanours of youth.
A Bench of Justices K.M. Joseph and S. Ravindra Bhat stated that certain types of repetitive crimes committed in rural society, like molestation of women, assault, trespass, etc., point to its casteist, hierarchical under-belly.
The Judgment came on the basis of an appeal filed by the Delhi Police Commissioner.
The Police screening committee had turned down several applications for constable posts, especially from rural regions, since they had a criminal record.
The Delhi High Court made general remarks on how crimes are common in rural areas.
The Supreme Court observed, “The High Court’s approach, evident from its observations about the youth and age of the candidates, appears to hint at the general acceptability of behaviour which involves petty crime or misdemeanour. The impugned order indicates a broad view, that such misdemeanours should not be taken seriously, given the age of the youth and the rural setting.”
The Supreme Court further stated, “This Court is of the opinion that such generalisations, leading to condonation of the offender’s conduct, should not enter into the Judicial verdict and should be avoided.”
Hence, the Court ordered Public employers to investigate every detail of the candidate’s past.
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