The Uttarakhand High Court has set aside the termination of Civil Judge (Senior Division) Deepali Sharma and directed her reinstatement with continuity of service and seniority.
The termination orders were issued following allegations that the judge kept a 14-year-old girl at her residence, made her do domestic work, neglected her health and subjected her to physical harm.
A division bench of Chief Justice G Narendar and Justice Subhash Upadhyay said it examined the entire case record and found serious deficiencies in the investigation process.
The court stated that the girl, who was the main witness, and her father had denied all allegations against Sharma and said that she treated the girl properly.
The bench directed that it would be deemed that Sharma was never removed from service. It also ruled that she would be entitled to 50 per cent of back benefits for the intervening period, without any impact on her seniority.
The case stemmed from an anonymous complaint filed in 2018, after which a probe was conducted and the full court of the high court resolved to terminate Sharma’s services. A government order was subsequently issued to implement the decision.
In November 2020, the full court resolution passed by a bench of nine judges, along with the government order, was challenged before the high court. It was alleged that during her posting as Civil Judge (Senior Division) in Haridwar, Sharma had kept a 14-year-old girl at her residence, made her perform domestic work, neglected her health and subjected her to physical harm.
Observing that both the girl and her father denied the allegations, the court further noted that during the 2018 raid at Sharma’s official residence in the Judges’ Colony in Haridwar, no prior approval of the then Chief Justice K M Joseph had been taken, nor was any such approval found on record.
The bench also observed that despite several judges living nearby, no witness came forward to support the allegations. It questioned the need to deploy a team of 18 to 20 officials to conduct a raid at the residence of a woman judicial officer.
The court held that the charges framed against Sharma did not relate to keeping a minor or employing child labour. Instead, they were framed under the Uttarakhand Government Servants Rules, 2002, concerning integrity and conduct. It also noted that the specific rule relating to the employment of children for domestic work was not invoked.
On these grounds, the high court quashed the full court resolution dated October 14, 2020, and the subsequent government termination order, and ordered Sharma’s reinstatement with full seniority and partial service benefits.
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