Principle: Article 20(2) embodies the protection against Double Jeopardy: no person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once.
Facts: A government employee is dismissed from service after an internal departmental inquiry for corruption. Can he subsequently be criminally prosecuted in court?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Yes, departmental inquiry is not a prosecution before a court of law
- Step 1: Examine the scope of Article 20(2) (Maqbool Hussain v. State of Bombay).
- Step 2: The protection applies only when both the prosecution and punishment are before a court of law or judicial tribunal.
- Step 3: Departmental disciplinary proceedings are administrative inquiries, not judicial trials; hence, subsequent criminal prosecution is valid.
Answer
Yes, departmental inquiry is not a prosecution before a court of law.
Practise more Constitutional Law: Directive Principles, Writs and Federal Structure.
Free questions with an explanation for every one, and full timed CLAT UG mock tests.
More Constitutional Law: Directive Principles, Writs and Federal Structure questions
- Principle: The writ of Habeas Corpus is issued to secure the release of a person who is detained unlawfully without legal justification.
Fac… - Principle: The writ of Mandamus lies to compel the performance of a public statutory duty by an authority.
Facts: A municipal corporation re… - Principle: The doctrine of Pith and Substance examines the true nature and character of an enactment to determine legislative competence und…
- Principle: Under Article 13(2), the State shall not make any law which takes away or abridges fundamental rights, and any law made in contra…
- Principle: Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV) are fundamental in the governance of the country but are not enforceable by any co…
- Principle: Quo Warranto is issued to enquire into the legality of the claim which a party asserts to a public office.
Facts: A person who do…