SSB officer removed from service after incorrect information found in declaration; he challenged the action, Allahabad HC orders him to resume duty; know why

A recent order from the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has brought relief to a paramilitary officer who lost his job over a marriage claim that never held up in court. The officer, who joined the Sashastra Seema Bal as an Assistant Commandant in 2009 and was later promoted to Deputy Commandant in 2016, was removed from service in April 2022 after his department concluded he had hidden a marriage while joining duty. He took the matter to the Allahabad High Court, and the court has now ordered his department to take him back.

Why did the woman file a marriage complaint against the SSB officer

According to the case, a marriage proposal between the officer and a woman was placed before his family, but it was turned down. The woman then approached the officer's department with a complaint, following which criminal proceedings were started against him. She also filed an application under Section 125 of the CrPC, claiming her marriage with the officer had been solemnised in a temple, and asked that her name be added to his service records.


What did the Pratapgarh police report say about the disputed marriage

During the department's inquiry, the District Magistrate of Pratapgarh had also sought a report from the local police station. A sub-inspector from the Gadwara police outpost reported that while the woman's family was willing to have her married to the officer, villagers said no such marriage had actually taken place. The report also noted that her Section 125 CrPC application had already been dismissed, and that in a separate case filed under Sections 498-A, 323, 504 of the IPC and Section 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, the officer had been granted protection by a writ court.

Why was the SSB officer acquitted in the dowry harassment case

The officer's counsel told the court that all these proceedings were an attempt to pressure him into marrying the woman, and that no marriage had ever been performed as per Hindu rituals. In the related criminal case under Sections 498-A and 323 of the IPC and Section 3/4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, the trial court had already acquitted the officer after finding major contradictions in the woman's own version of events. During that trial, the woman herself admitted her marriage had not been performed as per Hindu rituals and Saptpadi.

What the officer argued about marriage validity under Hindu law

Relying on the Supreme Court's ruling in Priya Balan Ghosh vs Suresh Chandra Ghosh, the officer's counsel argued that under the Hindu Marriage Act, a marriage is valid only when the essential ceremonies are actually performed. The counsel also cited Shanti Deb Berma vs Kanchan Prava Devi, arguing that evidence of a marriage must be solid and cannot rest on letters or oral claims alone, and that a certificate from an Arya Samaj mandir by itself does not prove a valid marriage. The officer maintained he had correctly declared himself unmarried when he joined the force, and said the removal order was based on imaginary facts.

How the department defended the officer's removal from service

Representing the Union of India, the counsel said the woman had told the departmental inquiry that her marriage to the officer was solemnised at an Arya Samaj Mandir in Krishnanagar, Prayag, Allahabad, in August 2007. The priest who conducted the ceremony was also examined and backed her version, and notary certificates were placed on record. The department argued the officer had wrongly declared himself unmarried at the time of joining service, and had also answered "No" when asked whether he had ever been prosecuted, even though a criminal case was pending against him at the time.

Why the Allahabad High Court said an Arya Samaj certificate is not enough

The court noted that the entire dispute rested on the woman's claim of marriage at the Arya Samaj Mandir, and that the officer's removal was based on this claim being treated as true. The court pointed out that under the Hindu Marriage Act, a marriage is valid only when performed with essential Hindu rites and Saptpadi, and that the woman herself had admitted during the trial that these rites were never carried out. Relying on the Priya Balan Ghosh judgment, the court held that merely producing an Arya Samaj certificate does not establish that a valid marriage took place.

The department had also cited a second marriage the officer entered into in December 2015 as a ground of unsuitability. The court rejected this too, holding that since the 2007 marriage was never valid in the eyes of law, it "cannot be held to be a marriage in the eyes of law" and could not be used to call the officer unsuitable for service.

What the Allahabad High Court ordered for the officer's reinstatement

The court quashed the removal order dated April 28, 2022, and allowed the petition. The department has been directed to let the officer resume duty immediately. However, the period between the removal order and the date of this ruling will be treated as no work, no pay, though it will not be counted as a break in service.