Court finds acquittal was due to lack of evidence, not merely benefit of doubt; upholds direction to issue appointment letter
Jodhpur: The Rajasthan High Court has upheld the appointment of a candidate as a Primary School Teacher after finding that his acquittal in a case involving an allegedly fabricated REET marksheet was a clear acquittal for lack of evidence.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal and Justice Munnuri Laxman dismissed the State Government’s appeal against the Single Judge’s direction to issue an appointment letter to Rajendra Singh for the post of Primary School Teacher (Level-1).
Candidate selected but appointment withheld
Singh had cleared the written examination for the post and was included in the final selection and counselling lists. However, the State withheld his appointment because of a criminal case against him under various sections of the IPC.
The case arose from allegations that incorrect REET marks had been mentioned in his application and that a fabricated marksheet had been uploaded. Singh was later acquitted by the trial court, with the acquittal affirmed in appeal.
State challenged appointment
Despite the acquittal, the State denied him appointment, arguing that the alleged offences involved moral turpitude and that the authorities could consider his antecedents while deciding his suitability for government service.
The State relied on Supreme Court rulings concerning the effect of criminal antecedents and acquittal on appointment.
High Court examines the evidence
The Division Bench examined whether Singh’s acquittal was based on benefit of doubt or on the prosecution’s failure to prove his involvement.
The Court noted that the prosecution had to establish not only that incorrect information and a fabricated marksheet were uploaded, but also that Singh himself had uploaded them.
Uploading Was Proved, But Not Who Did It
The Court found that no incriminating material was recovered from Singh’s seized mobile phone. The prosecution also failed to establish that the IP address used for uploading the disputed documents was connected to his mobile internet.
The Bench therefore held that the prosecution had failed to prove Singh’s involvement.
‘Clear acquittal’ for lack of evidence
The Court held that this was a clear case of acquittal for lack of evidence and not an acquittal on account of reasonable doubt.
Noting that Singh had faced trial for nearly five years without evidence linking him to the alleged uploading, the Bench found no reason to deny him appointment on that basis.
State’s appeal dismissed
The Court dismissed the state’s appeal and upheld single Bench decision.