VISHWANATH vs UNION OF INDIA

The Supreme Court held that the punishment of removal from service imposed on the appellant, a member of the Railway Police Force, was shockingly disproportionate to the misconduct, which stemmed from provocation by a colleague. The Court noted that while both the appellant and the colleague were found guilty, the latter received a lesser penalty of withholding of increment. The Court set aside the removal and substituted it with a penalty of withholding increment for three years, emphasizing the need for proportionality in disciplinary actions under service law.