Mumbai: The Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT) has directed the reinstatement of a Navi Mumbai police constable, Ravindra Kolpe, who was dismissed for allegedly failing to disclose a pending rape case against him at the time of his appointment. MAT ruled that the dismissal was based on a misinterpretation of facts and procedures.
Kolpe, recruited as a police constable in 2017, had completed and submitted his ‘Attestation Form’, a requirement during recruitment declaring that no criminal cases were pending against him. The criminal case was filed on June 27, 2017, nearly three weeks after he had submitted the attestation form.
Kolpe was arrested on July 2, 2017, on charges of rape and remained in judicial custody until July 20. He was granted bail by an additional sessions judge, who noted the case stemmed from a consensual relationship. On Aug 21, 2017, when Kolpe joined as a constable in the Navi Mumbai police force, he voluntarily informed the department about the case against him. Subsequently, Ahmednagar police confirmed the details in a report dated Aug 28, 2017.
In Nov 2018, Bombay High Court quashed the criminal case against Kolpe following a settlement between the parties, confirming that the relationship in question was consensual.
Despite this, the department proceeded with disciplinary action, leading to Kolpe’s removal.
In Jan 2020, the commissioner of police, Navi Mumbai, acting on a departmental inquiry, terminated Kolpe’s services on the grounds of non-disclosure. The department argued that Kolpe was obligated to update them about the criminal case despite having already submitted his Attestation Form. Kolpe challenged this, asserting that the rules did not require additional disclosures after the form submission.
The MAT, comprising Debashish Chakrabarty and Mridula Bhatkar, observed that the charges against Kolpe presumed an understanding of departmental rules that newly recruited constables could not reasonably be expected to know. Additionally, the inquiry report failed to consider the timeline of events: Kolpe had no obligation to update the Attestation Form after its submission and had voluntarily informed his superiors upon joining.
The tribunal further noted inconsistencies in the departmental inquiry. During cross-examination, Sunil Dubele, a senior clerk in the Navi Mumbai police establishment, admitted there was no established mechanism for verifying a recruit’s antecedents after the Attestation Form’s submission. He also conceded that newly recruited constables lacked knowledge of departmental regulations.
The MAT directed the Navi Mumbai police to reinstate Kolpe by Dec 1, 2024, and send him for training with the next available batch.