# State of Jharkhand & Ors. vs Garhwa District Police Constable & Ors.

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0021](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0021)

## Report card

By judgment dated 8 May 2026 in Civil Appeal No. 7364 of 2026, the Supreme Court of India (Coram: Ahsanuddin Amanullah, R. Mahadevan, JJ.) upheld the disciplinary action taken against the Ranjan Kumar @ Santosh Kumar (Constable).

- Register number: JH 14 CW 0002
- Case reference: Civil Appeal No. 7364 of 2026 / 2026 INSC 466
- Court and date: Supreme Court of India (Coram: Ahsanuddin Amanullah, R. Mahadevan, JJ.), 8 May 2026
- Officer(s) at the material time: Ranjan Kumar @ Santosh Kumar (Constable)
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Article 142 of the Constitution of India
- Finding of the Court (extract): “Public employment, particularly in the police service, cannot be converted into an instrument of fraud.” (at para 24)
- 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.advocatekhoj.com/library/judgments/index.php?go=2026/may/state-of-jharkhand-vs-ranjan-kumar-23); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0021)

**Record:** CW-2026-0021 (compiler id CWC-0177); case SWOTHERM-015; aliases: CWC-1462
**Title:** State of Jharkhand & Ors. vs Garhwa District Police Constable & Ors.
**Court:** Supreme Court of India; judges: Ahsanuddin Amanullah; R. Mahadevan
**Case number / citation:** Civil Appeal No. 7364 of 2026 / 2026 INSC 466
**Judgment:** 2026-05-08 (2026, day precision)
**Incident date:** 2005-05-18 (2005)
**Place:** Garhwa, Jharkhand; city town: Garhwa; police station or unit: Garhwa District Police, Jharkhand Police; force: state_police
**Category:** Other misconduct
**Sub-category:** other
**Outcome:** Disciplinary action upheld (disciplinary_upheld)
**Sections:** Constitution Art. 142
**Officers (gated display forms):** Ranjan Kumar @ Santosh Kumar (Constable) (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. Ranjan Kumar was appointed as a constable in Jharkhand Police in Garhwa district in 2005 and subsequently secured a second constable appointment in Bihar Police under the assumed name 'Santosh Kumar' using fabricated documents. Departmental inquiry revealed the fraud and he was dismissed in 2010, but the Jharkhand High Court Division Bench interfered with the dismissal. The Supreme Court reversed the Division Bench, restored the constable's dismissal from Jharkhand Police, quashed his appointment in Bihar Police under Article 142, and directed the DGPs of both states to initiate criminal proceedings. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> Public employment, particularly in the police service, cannot be converted into an instrument of fraud.

**Sources (6):** [advocatekhoj.com](https://www.advocatekhoj.com/library/judgments/index.php?go=2026/may/state-of-jharkhand-vs-ranjan-kumar-23); [verdictum.in](https://www.verdictum.in/supreme-court/the-state-of-jharkhand-ors-v-ranjan-kumar-ors-2026-insc-466-impersonation-1613679); [livelaw.in](https://www.livelaw.in/supreme-court/supreme-court-orders-criminal-action-against-constable-who-joined-bihar-jharkhand-police-in-different-names-533562); [courtbook.in](https://courtbook.in/posts/supreme-court-jharkhand-constable-fake-identity-bihar-police-dismissal); [barandbench.com](https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/supreme-court-orders-dismissal-of-cop-who-joined-bihar-and-jharkhand-police-under-different-names); [scconline.com](https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2026/05/12/sc-restores-police-constables-dismissal-for-securing-appointment-through-fraud/)
**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:** 24
**display title redacted:** State of Jharkhand & Ors. vs Garhwa District Police Constable & Ors.
**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': '2026-05-08', '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': '2026 INSC 466', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://www.advocatekhoj.com/library/judgments/index.php?go=2026/may/state-of-jharkhand-vs-ranjan-kumar-23', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.verdictum.in/supreme-court/the-state-of-jharkhand-ors-v-ranjan-kumar-ors-2026-insc-466-impersonation-1613679', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.livelaw.in/supreme-court/supreme-court-orders-criminal-action-against-constable-who-joined-bihar-jharkhand-police-in-different-names-533562', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://courtbook.in/posts/supreme-court-jharkhand-constable-fake-identity-bihar-police-dismissal', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/supreme-court-orders-dismissal-of-cop-who-joined-bihar-and-jharkhand-police-under-different-names', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2026/05/12/sc-restores-police-constables-dismissal-for-securing-appointment-through-fraud/', '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 reversed High Court Division Bench, restoring dismissal of constable who fraudulently joined Bihar Police under an alias while serving in Jharkhand Police.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Disciplinary action upheld.

[Open CW-2026-0021](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0021)