More than four decades after allegations of dereliction of duty during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots led to his demotion, the Supreme Court on Wednesday restored the rank of a former Delhi Police assistant commissioner and ordered that he be given all consequential retirement benefits. The court held that punishing personnel long after the fact, based on what could have been done differently with hindsight, would amount to “grave injustice.”
The apex court was deciding the case of one Durga Prasad, who was serving as station house officer (SHO) of Kingsway Camp police station when riots broke out in Delhi after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Prasad was accused of negligence and failure to control the rioting in his jurisdiction. He was promoted to the rank of assistant commissioner of police (ACP) in May 1985. But eight years after the riots, an inquiry into the police’s handling of the violence found fault with several personnel, including Prasad. On December 29, 2001, the disciplinary authority demoted him back to inspector rank until his retirement on March 31, 2004.
Prasad was accused of negligence and failure to control the rioting in his jurisdiction.
He challenged the punishment through multiple legal avenues, including the Central Administrative Tribunal and eventually the Delhi high court, which in 2022 set aside the demotion but allowed the disciplinary authority to initiate fresh proceedings. Prasad then approached the Supreme Court, arguing that the matter should be closed entirely.
In its ultimate analysis, a bench of justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra ruled in his favour. “In a case of such nature, the disciplinary authority may also have to empathise with the situation in which the charged officer was placed at the relevant time,” the bench observed. “In hindsight, it is easy to say that things could have been handled better… but if this alone is taken as a basis to punish police personnel… grave injustice would be done.”
The bench noted that disciplinary proceedings were initiated in 1992, long after Prasad had been promoted. While acknowledging that promotion doesn’t erase past misconduct, it pointed out that greater caution is warranted in cases based on omissions rather than acts.
The charges against Prasad included his failure to use tear gas, despite no evidence that the police were even supplied with it. He was also criticised for not inflicting gunshot injuries on rioters, though he maintained that police fired shots only to disperse crowds, not to wound. Another charge related to his failure to make preventive arrests or call for more forces.
Responding to these accusations, the bench said, “Considering the scale at which riots broke out, it is difficult to assume that with limited resources… deployment could have been ensured across the entire area under his command.” It added, “In our view, dissent on this count is unwarranted, particularly in the absence of any evidence that police force was sitting idle.”
The court further rejected the charge of inaction over the absence of preventive arrests, noting that the riots erupted suddenly after news of Gandhi’s assassination. “Absence of preventive arrest is not a ground to believe that there was inaction on the part of the charged officer,” it said.
The bench acknowledged it could have directed fresh disciplinary proceedings, but concluded that would be “too harsh,” especially given the passage of time. “The incident is over 40 years old, and the officer retired in 2004. We see no reason to subject him to a fresh exercise at this stage.”
The court upheld the 2022 Delhi high court order quashing the demotion and ruled that Prasad be restored to the rank of ACP with all consequential benefits. “The appellant shall be entitled to all consequential benefits including revision of pension, if any payable, accordingly,” the court said.
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