Bihar Military Police Constable vs State of Bihar and Others

The judgment of the Jharkhand High Court records the following account. On 8 May 1996, while on deputation at D.A.V. School, Hazaribagh, during the Lok Sabha elections, BMP constable abused and pushed down constable and later that night assaulted the sleeping constable on the chest with boots, hospitalising him till 13 May 1996 (station diary No. 290/96, Sadar Police Station). The enquiry officer gave benefit of doubt, but the Commandant disagreed and dismissed him on 7 April 1998; the appellate authority confirmed guilt while reducing dismissal to compulsory retirement on 3 November 1998. The Jharkhand High Court (Amareshwar Sahay, J.) held the disciplinary authority had stated reasons for disagreement in the show-cause notice with opportunity to reply, had carefully considered the record including eyewitness evidence, and that a writ court cannot substitute findings of fact. The writ application was dismissed on 18 May 2004, leaving compulsory retirement undisturbed; the 1996 incident pre-dates Jharkhand's formation, hence the State of Bihar respondent. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.