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Centre dismisses IPS officer from service for second marriage before divorce
The Centre has dismissed a 2009 batch Rajasthan cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer for remarrying a decade earlier without divorcing his first wife. Pankaj Kumar Chaudhary, 44, the officer, was last posted as the commandant of a police training school in Jhalawar.
The Centre has dismissed a 2009 batch Rajasthan cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer for remarrying a decade earlier without divorcing his first wife. Pankaj Kumar Chaudhary, 44, the officer, was last posted as the commandant of a police training school in Jhalawar.
A Union home ministry’s February 19 order cited charges framed against Chaudhary, an inquiry officer’s report and connected case records and said he has been dismissed after his representation was rejected. It added that Chaudhary should have maintained “absolute integrity” as a senior officer of a uniformed service.
“Chaudhary married on December 4, 2005, and legally separated from his first wife on May 1, 2018. During this period, he entered into a relationship with another woman and fathered a child…,” the order said.
“Thus, he clearly violated the Rule 3(1) of the AIS (conduct) rules 1968, which provides that ‘every member of the service shall at all times maintain absolute integrity and devotion to duty and shall do nothing which is unbecoming of a member of the service’,” it added. HT has seen a copy of the six-page order. Chaudhary has refused to receive the dismissal order, according to people aware of the developments.
His first wife, Sudha Gupta, had lodged a complaint in February 2013, accusing him of having an illicit relationship, which violated the service rules. The Rajasthan government found the charges to be true and filed a charge-sheet against him on April 26, 2016, and initiated disciplinary proceedings.
Chaudhary replied to the charge-sheet, which was not found to be satisfactory and the government appointed an inquiring authority to look into the matter, the order said.
He submitted another representation to the state government on September 15, 2017, which was also rejected. The state government on November 8, 2017, forwarded a proposal containing case records and comments along with his representation to Union home ministry with a recommendation to impose a suitable penalty. Chaudhary said it will not be suitable for him to comment on the dismissal. “I will challenge the orders in the court,” he added.
