Indiscipline in armed forces to be viewed seriously: SC

New Delhi: Indiscipline on part of security force personnel must be “viewed seriously” and deserting work by disobeying orders of superior officers is an act of “gross misconduct”, the Supreme Court has ruled.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur also said that past conduct of a delinquent employee can be taken into consideration while imposing a penalty on him.
The court’s remarks came as it dealt with a plea filed by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) against the Delhi High Court’s August 2014 judgement directing reinstatement of a constable, Abrar Ali, who was dismissed from service due to his alleged acts of indiscipline and misconduct.
The bench, which also comprised Justices D Y Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao, said “indiscipline on the part of a member of an armed force has to be viewed seriously.
It is clear that the respondent (Ali) had intentionally disobeyed the orders of his superiors and deserted the force for a period of 5 days.
Ali was appointed as a constable in CISF in Sept 1990 and in Oct 1999, an inquiry was proposed against him under the CISF Rules for  allegations of misconduct and misbehavior. (PTI)