Bombay HC: Midnight knock on neighbour's door for lemon preposterous, unbecoming of CISF officer

Bombay High Court/ File Photo

The Bombay High Court condemned the act of a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officer knocking on a woman's door at strange hours, demanding a lemon, as absurd and unbecoming of an officer, but refused to overturn the sentence imposed on him for misconduct.

In a ruling dated March 11, a division bench comprised of Justices Nitin Jamdar and MM Sathaye rejected Arvind Kumar's plea, a constable stationed at Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) in Mumbai. Kumar had consumed alcohol before the incident and was aware that his colleague, the woman's husband was away for work, reported PTI.

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According to the agency report, Kumar challenged the CISF authorities' disciplinary proceedings against him from July 2021 to June 2022 for wrongdoing and subsequent penalty which stated that his salary would be reduced for three years and during that he would also not receive any increment.

According to the report, on the night of April 19, 2021, Kumar allegedly knocked on the door of his neighbour's residence, which housed a mother and her six-year-old daughter. Despite the woman's concerns, Kumar proceeded until she warned and threatened him.

Kumar claimed in his defence that he was ill and needed a lemon to treat a stomach complaint. The court did, however, highlight his alcohol use prior to the occurrence, as well as his awareness of the woman's absent husband, the report added.

The HC, per the PTI report, "The action of the petitioner of knocking on neighbour's door knowing that the man in the house is absent, the same being occupied by a lady with her six-year-old daughter and that too for a frivolous reason of getting a lemon for a so-called medical emergency of stomach upset, is preposterous, to say the least."

Given the circumstances, the bench determined Kumar's conduct was unacceptable for a CISF officer and dismissed his plea. It emphasised the obligation of government employees, even when off duty, to maintain integrity and desist from behaviours unbecoming of their position, as required by the Central Civil Service (Conduct) Rules, the report added.

Knocking on a woman's door at strange hours and asking for a lemon is absurd and unworthy of a CISF personnel, according to the Bombay High Court, which refused to overturn the penalty imposed on him for misconduct. The court said, "In our considered view, the intention of the petitioner is certainly not found to be as genuine and clear as alleged."