# State of Punjab & Ors. v. Punjab Armed Police Constable

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2025-0044](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2025-0044)

## Report card

By judgment dated 29 August 2025 in Civil Appeal No. 312 of 2012, the Supreme Court of India (Coram: J.K. Maheshwari, Vijay Bishnoi, JJ.) upheld the disciplinary action taken against the Constable, Punjab Armed Police, 2nd Commando Battalion, Bahadurgarh.

- Register number: PB 11 CW 0007
- Case reference: Civil Appeal No. 312 of 2012 / 2025 INSC 1056; 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 857
- Court and date: Supreme Court of India (Coram: J.K. Maheshwari, Vijay Bishnoi, JJ.), 29 August 2025
- Officer(s) at the material time: Constable, Punjab Armed Police, 2nd Commando Battalion, Bahadurgarh
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Not stated in the cited sources
- Finding of the Court (extract): “As such, it is concluded that the dismissal of the respondent was based on gravest act of misconduct, for which he was dealt with by the disciplinary authority following the procedure as prescribed and in due observance of principles of …” (at para 33)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Disciplinary action upheld. Sentence: dismissal.
- Present status of the proceedings: The judgment is recent and may be subject to appeal; the pendency of an appeal is not a finding.
- Source orders: [Judgment / order (primary source)](https://www.verdictum.in/pdf_upload/state-of-punjab-v-ex-c-satpal-singhwatermark-1740140.pdf); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2025-0044)

**Record:** CW-2025-0044 (compiler id CWC-0915); case GAP2-60-005
**Title:** State of Punjab & Ors. v. Punjab Armed Police Constable
**Court:** Supreme Court of India; judges: J.K. Maheshwari; Vijay Bishnoi
**Case number / citation:** Civil Appeal No. 312 of 2012 / 2025 INSC 1056; 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 857
**Judgment:** 2025-08-29 (2025, day precision)
**Incident date:** 1994-04-04 (1994)
**Place:** Patiala, Punjab; city town: Bahadurgarh; police station or unit: 2nd Commando Battalion, Bahadurgarh; force: state_police
**Category:** Other misconduct
**Sub-category:** other
**Outcome:** Disciplinary action upheld (disciplinary_upheld)
**Officers (gated display forms):** Constable, Punjab Armed Police, 2nd Commando Battalion, Bahadurgarh (1 in record)
**Victims:** Not stated (0 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** dismissal
**Sentence type:** dismissal (dismissal)

The judgment of the Supreme Court of India records the following account. Constable (No. 2-C/280) of the Punjab Armed Police, posted with the 2nd Commando Battalion at Bahadurgarh, overstayed one day casual leave from 2 April 1994 and rejoined only on 12 May 1994, having already faced three prior departmental actions for absence. The disciplinary authority dismissed him on 3 May 1996, but two civil courts decreed his challenge suit and the Punjab and Haryana High Court sustained that relief in second appeal. The Supreme Court held absence on various occasions in a short tenure of about seven years is gross indiscipline and the gravest act of misconduct under the first limb of Rule 16.2(1), with past record merely lending weight. It set aside the High Court judgment, dismissed the constable suit, and restored the dismissal with the absence period as non-duty. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> As such, it is concluded that the dismissal of the respondent was based on gravest act of misconduct, for which he was dealt with by the disciplinary authority following the procedure as prescribed and in due observance of principles of natural justice, hence, we do not find any fault in the same.

**Sources (3):** [verdictum.in](https://www.verdictum.in/pdf_upload/state-of-punjab-v-ex-c-satpal-singhwatermark-1740140.pdf); [s3.courtbook.in](https://s3.courtbook.in/2025/08/STATE-OF-PUNJAB-AND-OTHERS.pdf); [livelaw.in](https://www.livelaw.in/supreme-court/past-misconduct-can-add-weight-to-dismissal-even-if-not-mentioned-in-show-cause-notice-supreme-court-302505)
**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:** 33
**display title redacted:** State of Punjab & Ors. v. Punjab Armed Police Constable
**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': '2025-08-29', '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': '2025 INSC 1056; 2025 LiveLaw (SC) 857', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://www.verdictum.in/pdf_upload/state-of-punjab-v-ex-c-satpal-singhwatermark-1740140.pdf', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://s3.courtbook.in/2025/08/STATE-OF-PUNJAB-AND-OTHERS.pdf', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.livelaw.in/supreme-court/past-misconduct-can-add-weight-to-dismissal-even-if-not-mentioned-in-show-cause-notice-supreme-court-302505', '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:** SC restored dismissal of habitual-absentee constable; pure service-discipline matter, no civilian victim.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Disciplinary action upheld.

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