2022 P L C (C.S.) 474
2021 SCMR 1077
Taking bribe---Major penalty imposed on basis of CCTV footage without forensic audit of such footage---Legality---Admittedly in the present case no regular inquiry was conducted by the Department and the same was dispensed with on the ground that the other evidence in the shape of CCTV footage was so authentic that major penalty could be imposed upon the respondent in the absence of regular inquiry and while imposing the major penalty CCTV footage was made the sole criterion to proceed against the respondent---Said CCTV footage was never sent to the office of Forensic Science Laboratory for its authenticity---In the absence of any forensic report qua the authenticity of the CCTV footage, the same could not be considered a legal basis for proceeding against a person---Said footage was even not produced before the Service Tribunal---Even otherwise, mere producing of CCTV footage as a piece of evidence without any forensic test was not sufficient to be relied upon unless and until corroborated and proved to be genuine---Persons who allegedly gave the bribe to the respondent, had also not been associated with the departmental proceedings---Service Tribunal had rightly set-aside the penalties of compulsory retirement and reduction to the lower rank awarded to the respondent---Petition for leave to appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court with the observation that departmental proceeding in such a casual way by the departmental authority inviting a public servant into litigation for considerable time should be avoided because on one end, it wasted time of the court and on the other it caused physical stress, loss of reputation in public eyes, which ultimately led to mental agony for a public servant, which had no legal or moral justification.
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