Service discipline outweighs personal considerations: SC

SC RESTORED THE DISMISSAL OF CISF CONSTABLE FOR ENTERING INTO A SECOND MARRIAGE WHILE HIS FIRST MARRIAGE WAS STILL SUBSISTING

- Utkarsh Anand

The Supreme Court has underscored that service discipline in armed and paramilitary forces must prevail over personal considerations, holding that acts in a staffer's private life that risk domestic discord or divided responsibilities can undermine operational efficiency and mental stability.

A bench of justices Sanjay Karol and Vipul M Pancholi held that courts must give primacy to the interests of service discipline while adjudicating challenges to punishments imposed on members of uniformed forces, and should not lightly interfere with disciplinary decisions unless they shock the conscience or suffer from procedural illegality.

"It is generally understood that acts, whether in personal or professional life, if they involve the possibility of domestic discord, financial vulnerability or divided responsibilities, have the potential to adversely impact operational efficacy given mental/psychological stability is key," the bench noted.