Jaipur, Dec 11, 2020 –
After getting his termination order suspended by the Central Administrative Tribunal, former IPS officer Pankaj Choudhary said on Friday that he was always confident that he will make a comeback.
Speaking to IANS, Chaudhary said that he had full confidence in the system and hence chose to fight rather than sitting quietly with folded hands. “I always respected my duty and uniform and hence was confident that I will be back in the system.”
Chaoudhary was dismissed from service in February last year on “grave personnel misconduct grounds”, which mentioned that he was in a relationship with another woman without legally separating from his wife.
Chaudhary challenged his dismissal at the CAT in Jodhpur, which was later transferred to the tribunal’s principal bench in Delhi.
The Ministry of Home Affairs order of dismissal stated that the 2009 batch officer married Sudha Gupta on December 4, 2005, and legally separated from her on May 5, 2018. According to the order, Choudhary was not legally separated from his wife during the intervening period when he entered into a physical relationship with another woman and fathered her child.
Choudhary told IANS that a single-judge bench of the court had earlier ruled that extra-marital affairs can’t be the ground for action against a government official. The case was filed by two police personnel who were suspended in March 2001 for alleged extra-marital affairs.
Chaoudhary further said, “My case doesn’t violate either the Indian Penal Code nor any other civil law. On May 1, 2018, I was granted divorce and on July 14, 2018 I entered into wedlock for the second time in Varanasi following all government norms. But the previous government kept this report hidden and forwarded my matter to the higher authorities.” (Agency)
