# State of Rajasthan and Ors. vs Heem Singh

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## Report card

By judgment dated 29 October 2020 in Civil Appeal No. 3340 of 2020, the Supreme Court of India (Coram: D.Y. Chandrachud, Indu Malhotra, Indira Banerjee, JJ.) upheld the disciplinary action taken against the Heem Singh (Constable).

- Register number: RJ 30 CW 0002
- Case reference: Civil Appeal No. 3340 of 2020 / AIRONLINE 2020 SC 795
- Court and date: Supreme Court of India (Coram: D.Y. Chandrachud, Indu Malhotra, Indira Banerjee, JJ.), 29 October 2020
- Officer(s) at the material time: Heem Singh (Constable)
- Present service status: Recorded in the cited sources as dismissed from service.
- Provisions invoked: Article 142 of the Constitution of India; Article 226 of the Constitution of India; Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
- Finding of the Court (extract): “True, even on the more relaxed standard which governs a disciplinary enquiry, evidence of the involvement of the respondent in a conspiracy involving the death of a Khamnaur man would be difficult to prove. But there are, as we have …” (at para 35)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Disciplinary action upheld. Sentence: dismissal.
- Present status of the proceedings: No further proceedings are recorded in the cited sources; the judgment is the concluded position shown.
- Source orders: [Judgment / order (primary source)](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/173130822/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2020-0008)

**Record:** CW-2020-0008 (compiler id CWC-0323); case RAJAST-005; aliases: CWC-1444
**Title:** State of Rajasthan and Ors. vs Heem Singh
**Court:** Supreme Court of India; judges: D.Y. Chandrachud; Indu Malhotra; Indira Banerjee
**Case number / citation:** Civil Appeal No. 3340 of 2020 / AIRONLINE 2020 SC 795
**Judgment:** 2020-10-29 (2020, day precision)
**Incident date:** 2002-08-15 (2002)
**Place:** Rajsamand, Rajasthan; city town: Khamnaur; police station or unit: Rajasthan Police; force: state_police
**Category:** Other misconduct
**Sub-category:** other
**Outcome:** Disciplinary action upheld (disciplinary_upheld)
**Sections:** Constitution of India Art. 142; Constitution of India Art. 226; IPC 302; IPC 120B; IPC 201
**Officers (gated display forms):** Heem Singh (Constable) (1 in record)
**Victims:** Khamnaur man (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** dismissal
**Sentence type:** dismissal (dismissal)

The Supreme Court set aside a Rajasthan High Court Division Bench order that had directed reinstatement of Constable Heem Singh, who was dismissed from service after a departmental inquiry found him complicit in a conspiracy to murder a Khamnaur man in August 2002. Although Heem Singh had been acquitted in the criminal trial due to witnesses turning hostile, the Supreme Court ruled that acquittal in a criminal case does not automatically vitiate disciplinary findings governed by the standard of preponderance of probabilities. Observing that retaining an officer found culpable of serious misconduct would undermine public confidence in the police, the Court restored the disciplinary penalty of dismissal, granting only notional minimum qualifying service under Article 142 to facilitate retiral dues without back wages. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> True, even on the more relaxed standard which governs a disciplinary enquiry, evidence of the involvement of the respondent in a conspiracy involving the death of a Khamnaur man would be difficult to prove. But there are, as we have seen earlier, circumstances emerging from the record of the disciplinary proceedings which bring legitimacy to the contention of the State that to reinstate such an employee back in service will erode the credibility of and public confidence in the image of the police force.

**Sources (3):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/173130822/); [livelaw.in](https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/sc-upholds-dismissal-of-police-constable-acquitted-in-a-murder-case-165156); [scconline.com](https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2020/10/30/police-constable-acquitted-in-a-murder-case-but-dismissed-from-service-after-a-related-disciplinary-enquiry-read-why-sc-upheld-the-dismissal/)
**Verification:** V2 · Externally reported
**Review:** Solo Staff combined review (one combined attestation) — not yet recorded
**admin category:** misconduct
**admin subcategory:** other
**allegations:** {'category': 'Other', 'primary': True, 'position': 'Material fact supported', 'position_explainer': 'Reliable material supports a specifically documented fact relevant to that allegation, not necessarily the full allegation, causation, intent, unlawfulness, or responsibility.', 'official_finding_relation': 'supports allegation'}
**anonymised:** False
**court quote para:** 35
**display title redacted:** State of Rajasthan and Ors. vs Heem Singh
**followup history:** {'date': '2026-09-19', 'scope': 'Round-8 full re-verification: published record re-checked against the judgment text (outcome, officers, quote, key facts) plus methodology-compliance pass', 'method': 'skills-guided adversarial re-verification of the published record against the judgment text (reverify/t1-*/adversarial-8.jsonl)', 'result': 'holds', 'corrections_applied': \[\]}
**followup status:** checked
**institutional response:** {'date': '2020-10-29', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Supreme Court of India', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Supreme Court of India upheld service punishment imposed on police personnel.', 'disposition': 'Disciplinary action · Procedural only', 'source': 'AIRONLINE 2020 SC 795', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/173130822/', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/sc-upholds-dismissal-of-police-constable-acquitted-in-a-murder-case-165156', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2020/10/30/police-constable-acquitted-in-a-murder-case-but-dismissed-from-service-after-a-related-disciplinary-enquiry-read-why-sc-upheld-the-dismissal/', 'link_checked': None}
**retracted:** {"is_retracted": false}
**service:** police
**source assessment:** {"established": null, "basis": null}
**status:** current
**subcategory display:** other
**tier:** Tier A — Externally reported or officially recorded
**tier badge:** Externally reported
**tier history:** Tier A — Externally reported or officially recorded
**verdict:** accept
**verdict note:** Supreme Court upheld disciplinary dismissal of Constable Heem Singh for murder conspiracy, holding criminal acquittal did not preclude departmental dismissal.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Disciplinary action upheld.

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