# State of Karnataka & Ors. vs Munirabad Police Police Head Constable

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0046](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0046)

## Report card

By judgment dated 23 February 2026 in Writ Petition No. 106139 of 2024 (S-KAT), the Karnataka High Court (Coram: M. I. Arun, B. Muralidhara Pai, JJ.) upheld the disciplinary action taken against the Police Head Constable, Special Reserve Force (disciplinary authority: Commandant, Indian Reserve Battalion, Munirabad).

- Register number: KA 37 CW 0002
- Case reference: Writ Petition No. 106139 of 2024 (S-KAT) / 2026:KHC-D:2846-DB
- Court and date: Karnataka High Court (Coram: M. I. Arun, B. Muralidhara Pai, JJ.), 23 February 2026
- Officer(s) at the material time: Police Head Constable, Special Reserve Force (disciplinary authority: Commandant, Indian Reserve Battalion, Munirabad)
- Present service status: Recorded in the cited sources as compulsorily retired.
- Provisions invoked: Not stated in the cited sources
- Finding of the Court (extract): “the fact that he was continuously absent from 11.01.2017 to 15.03.2022 i.e., for a period of more than five years, has to be considered as willful absence.” (at para 13)
- 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://indiankanoon.org/doc/162113100/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0046)

**Record:** CW-2026-0046 (compiler id CWC-0808); case GAP2-28-001
**Title:** State of Karnataka & Ors. vs Munirabad Police Police Head Constable
**Court:** Karnataka High Court; bench: Dharwad; judges: M. I. Arun; B. Muralidhara Pai
**Case number / citation:** Writ Petition No. 106139 of 2024 (S-KAT) / 2026:KHC-D:2846-DB
**Judgment:** 2026-02-23 (2026, day precision)
**Incident date:** 2017-01-11 (2017)
**Place:** Koppal, Karnataka; city town: Munirabad; police station or unit: Indian Reserve Battalion / Special Reserve Force, Munirabad; force: state_police
**Category:** Other misconduct
**Sub-category:** other
**Outcome:** Disciplinary action upheld (disciplinary_upheld)
**Officers (gated display forms):** Police Head Constable, Special Reserve Force (disciplinary authority: Commandant, Indian Reserve Battalion, Munirabad) (1 in record)
**Victims:** Not stated (0 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** dismissal
**Sentence type:** dismissal (dismissal)

The Karnataka High Court Division Bench at Dharwad (M.I. Arun and B. Muralidhara Pai JJ., 23 February 2026) allowed the State writ, set aside the KAT relief and sustained the compulsory retirement of Head Constable. The court recorded his admitted continuous absence from 11 January 2017 to 15 March 2022, over five years, attributed only to matrimonial discord and depression. It held such long absence must be treated as wilful, that unauthorised absence in a disciplined force must be viewed very seriously, and that compulsory retirement rather than dismissal was just, fair and reasonable. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> the fact that he was continuously absent from 11.01.2017 to 15.03.2022 i.e., for a period of more than five years, has to be considered as willful absence.

**Sources (1):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/162113100/)
**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:** 13
**display title redacted:** State of Karnataka & Ors. vs Munirabad Police Police Head 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': \['officers'\]}
**followup status:** checked
**institutional response:** {'date': '2026-02-23', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Karnataka High Court', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Karnataka High Court upheld service punishment imposed on police personnel.', 'disposition': 'Disciplinary action · Procedural only', 'source': '2026:KHC-D:2846-DB', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/162113100/', '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:** State's writ allowed; Tribunal relief set aside; compulsory retirement for 5+ years absence sustained.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Disciplinary action upheld.

[Open CW-2026-0046](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0046)