Employment in PSU be not denied on ground of conviction: HC

Employment in a public sector organization shall not be denied to a job-seeker on the ground of conviction in a criminal case unless offences have an element of "moral turpitude", the Delhi High Court has said.
A bench of justices Pradeep Nandrajog and V Kameswar Rao said an inference should not be drawn about the antecedent and character of a job-seeker on the basis of his conviction in a criminal case.
"The law declared was that every conviction for an offence would not require an inference to be drawn that the antecedent and character of the wrong doer is of a kind that public employment has to be denied," the court said.

Citing a previous verdict, the bench said "further, offences being classified as cognizable and non-cognizable, bailable as well as non-bailable, it was highlighted that only such offences which have an element of moral turpitude would warrant public employment to be denied."
The observations came while dismissing an appeal of Delhi police which was filed against the judgment of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).
The CAT had given the judgement in favour of a constable who was earlier convicted and fined by a criminal court after he pleaded guilty in a case lodged for rashly driving his motorcycle.
Police had taken the plea that the constable used to drive four-wheeled police vehicle and after the conviction, he cannot be allowed to continue.

The court upheld the judgment of the CAT.