Overview
- A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice to the officer and the Madhya Pradesh government and stayed the May 6, 2025 order that had quashed his termination.
- The judges described the alleged behavior as “disgusting” and “grossest grave misconduct,” referring to claims he urinated in the compartment in the presence of a woman passenger.
- The criminal case ended in a March 23, 2019 acquittal after key witnesses, including the TTE and the woman complainant, turned hostile and the medical report did not indicate alcohol.
- A departmental enquiry found the charges proved; the Administrative Committee and Full Court recommended removal, and the Governor terminated his service on September 28, 2019.
- The High Court’s Registrar General contends the Division Bench treated the acquittal as determinative and exceeded judicial review by substituting a minor penalty, an issue the Supreme Court will now examine.