CRPF constable remarries even as ‘first wife alive’, Allahabad High Court backs dismissal

The Allahabad High Court has upheld the dismissal of a CRPF constable who married again while his first wife was still alive. The court ruled that the constable's action amounted to misconduct and that his dismissal from service was a permissible punishment under the CRPF Act. The court dismissed the constable's argument that the punishment was excessive or disproportionate.

The constable joined the CRPF in 1988 and had a first wife who left the matrimonial home along with their children. A few years later, he allegedly remarried without informing the department, leading to disciplinary proceedings in 2011. The court noted that the CRPF Rules prohibit a member of the force who has a living wife from contracting another marriage, and that the constable's second marriage during the subsistence of his first was prohibited under the Hindu Marriage Act.

The court found that the constable had deliberately concealed this information, which led to his dismissal.