Concealment in character verification can invalidate public service appointment even if the criminal case ends in closure.

Suppression of a prior criminal case in a character-verification affidavit can justify termination or refusal of appointment in public service, especially in a disciplined force. The affidavit required disclosure both of pending criminal cases and of matters that had gone to trial and ended in conviction, acquittal, discharge, or punishment. Here, an FIR had been registered and a closure report filed, but the applicant did not disclose the involvement when seeking verification. The concealment of a material fact affecting suitability was treated as sufficient to vitiate the appointment, and the eventual closure of the criminal case did not cure the suppression.

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Issues: Whether the appellant's termination after appointment as a constable was valid on the ground that he had suppressed the fact of his involvement in a criminal case while submitting the affidavit required for character verification.

Analysis: The affidavit required disclosure in two distinct situations: one concerning registration of a criminal case and pending investigation, and another concerning cases that had proceeded to trial and ended in punishment, conviction, acquittal or discharge. The record showed that an FIR had been registered against the appellant and a closure report had been filed, but the fact of such involvement had not been disclosed when the employer sought character and antecedent verification. Suppression of a material fact demanded by the employer bears directly on suitability for public service, especially in a disciplined force, and is not cured by the fact that the criminal case ended in a closure report or did not culminate in trial. Appointment obtained by misrepresentation or concealment of material information cannot be sustained, and fraud or suppression vitiates the employment.

Conclusion: The termination was upheld and the challenge to it failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a candidate suppresses material information sought in a character-verification affidavit, the concealment itself justifies removal or refusal of appointment, irrespective of the eventual result of the criminal case.

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