Allahabad: The Allahabad High Court provided relief to a Government official who was dismissed over allegations of entering into second marriage while he was already in the first marriage. The court said that the dismissal of the government official has been revoked as the second marriage was not proved in the court. The Allahabad High Court further said that even if the second marriage would have been proved then also the government official could not have been dismissed. Allahabad High Court said that there is merit in the petitioner's argument that the punishment given to him over the charges of entering into second marriage was unjust.
Only minor punishment if second marriage proved
The Allahabad High Court quoted the Rule 29 of the UP Government Servants Conduct Rules and said that the rule sates that only minor punishment provides for a government official in case of a second marriage. The court observed that punishing the petitioner on assumptions of him performing the second marriage during subsistence of first marriage was not as per fact and law. The Allahabad High Court also said that the petitioner was liable for only a minor punishment and not a major punishment even if he was found to have performed second marriage.
Petitioner denies second marriage
As per reports from Live Law, the petitioner was appointed as an Apprentice in the office of the District Development Officer in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly on April 8, 1999. There were allegations against him that he has performed a second marriage even when he was under the subsistence of first marriage. He was dismissed from his post over allegation of misconduct and a chargesheet was also filed against him. The petitioner however denied that he has performed second marriage. The petitioner claimed that the extreme step was taken against him without even conducting a proper investigation in connection with the matter.
Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
The Allahabad High Court said that there is no proof that a proper Hindu Marriage was performed between the petitioner and the alleged second wife. Under Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the court said that to prove the marriage there needs to be proof that a valid Hindu Marriage was performed. The court in its order said that only self-declaration is not sufficient in cases relating to bigamy charges. The court also said that the punishment in such cases can be only be refusing to give increment to the accused for a period of around three years.
