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TMI Blog2009 (1) TMI 782X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... arking his scooter in a no-parking area should be dismissed from service. He may, perhaps, not be entitled to be heard on the question of penalty since clause (a) of the second proviso to Article 311(2) makes the provisions of that article inapplicable when a penalty is to be imposed on a government servant on the ground of conduct which has led to his conviction on a criminal charge. But the right to impose a penalty carries with it the duty to act justly. Surely, the Constitution does not contemplate that a government servant who is convicted for parking his scooter in a no-parking area should be dismissed from service. He may, perhaps, not be entitled to be heard on the question of penalty since clause (a) of the second proviso to Artic ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t had suspended the sentence. It is significant to note that the petitioner's original name in the bank records as well as in the Criminal Court is Ramuvel and subsequently he has assumed the name of Mohammed Abdul Rahim. 3. The petitioner after getting his sentence suspended by this Court on 03.11.1997, wrote a letter to the respondent bank stating that since the sentence has been suspended, there was no question of any discharge from service and therefore, he must be restored to duty. As he did not get any reply, he filed the present writ petition before this Court and the same was admitted on 15.7.1999. 4. The petitioner in this writ petition has raised the following contentions:- a)Para 521(2)(b) of the Shastri Award cannot be app ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tions on certain forms of employment- (1) No banking company- (a) (omitted) (b) Shall employ or continue the employment of any person. (i) Who is, or at any time has been, adjudicated insolvent, or has suspended payment or has compounded with his creditors, or who, is or has been, convicted by a criminal court of an offence involving moral turpitude; ..... quot; 8. The term ''moral turpitude'' came to be considered by the Supreme Court in Pawan Kumar -vs- State of Haryana reported in (1996) 4 SCC 17 and in para 12 it is stated as follows:- 12. Moral turpitude is an expression which is used in legal as also societal parlance to describe conduct which is inherently base, vile, depraved or having any connection showing depravity. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... criminal court involving moral turpitude quot;. 10. But by no stretch of imagination, the offence committed by the petitioner can be equated to an offence under the Excise Act. A conviction under Section 498-A of the IPC and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act is inherently base, vile and shows depraved conduct. Demanding and accepting dowry is a social evil and it is certainly an offence involving moral turpitude. Therefore, the second contention raised by the petitioner cannot be accepted by this Court. 11. With reference to the first contention that the petitioner cannot be discharged from service since he had his sentence suspended pending appeal and that the conviction had not reached finality, it is necessary to refer to the j ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ted on appeal or other proceeding, the order can always be revised and if the government servant is reinstated, he will be entitled to all the benefits to which he would have been entitled to had he continued in service. The other course suggested, viz., to wait till the appeal, revision and other remedies are over, would not be advisable since it would mean continuing in service a person who has been convicted of a serious offence by a criminal court. It should be remembered that the action under clause (a) of the second proviso to Article 311(2) will be taken only where the conduct which has led to his conviction is such that it deserves any of the three major punishments mentioned in Article 311(2). As held by this Court in Shankar Dass ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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