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Journalism of Courage
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside the suspension of Mohinder Singh, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in Haryana’s Palwal district, ruling that he was wrongly penalised for alleged dereliction of duty during board exams, even though he was on officially sanctioned leave.
Justice Jagmohan Bansal observed that suspending an officer for an incident that occurred during his leave period was “unjust and unfair.” The court stated, “It was unjust and unfair on the part of the respondent to tar the petitioner with the same brush as other officials who were on duty during the relevant period.”
Mohinder Singh, aged 53 and posted as DSP in Palwal, was suspended on March 1, 2025, for allegedly failing in his duty during the conduct of Class 10 and 12 board examinations. However, Singh argued that he had been on leave from February 25 to 28, 2025, and could not have been responsible for any lapses on February 27, the date of the exam.
The Haryana government had suspended 25 police officers and five invigilators for paper leak during the exam.
Represented by advocates S.P. Arora and Himanshu Arora, Singh challenged his suspension through a writ petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution, contending that the order was arbitrary and issued without considering his leave status.
On March 6, the court directed the Haryana government to clarify its stance. During the hearing on March 11, Additional Advocate General Rajni Gupta admitted that Singh was on leave at the time of the alleged dereliction of duty and could not be held accountable.
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