A bench of justices D K Jain and A R Dave upheld the dismissal of Railway Judicial Magistrate Gajendra Prasad Pandey of Barauni district in Bihar, setting aside a Patna High Court order for his reinstatement.
The high court had ordered Pandey's reinstatement despite the court's full bench on its administrative side recommending his dismissal.
The apex court also recommended that various high courts across the country should take steps to revamp the ACRs (annual confidential reports) of judicial officers under their jurisdiction to "infuse objectivity and standardisation."
The high court full bench had sacked Pandey on charges of first granting bail to two NDPS accused Ajay Kumar Yadav and Ram Kishore in 1999, despite the fact that he had no jurisdiction to grant bail in NDPS cases.
He was also charged with granting bail to one Tara Devi alias Haseena Khatoon, a proclaimed offender allegedly involved in theft of railway properties. He had also given bail to the woman despite the high court refusing her the same.
On the basis of the inquiry committee report, the Standing Committee of the high court and thereafter its "Full Court" had recommended his dismissal following which the state government had dismissed him from service on June 19, 2006.
A division bench of the Patna High Court however, quashed the dismissal order on the ground that bail was a matter of discretion and Pandey had a "good conduct" record in his ACRs (annual confidential record).
The high court's registrar general had come to the apex court in appeal. (more)
