Madanjit Kumar v. Central Electronics Limited was decided by the Delhi High Court on 10 February 2026 (reserved on 5 January 2026) by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sanjeev Narula. The case arose from disciplinary proceedings initiated against the petitioner, a long-serving CEL employee appointed in 1993 and promoted to Senior Manager (Public Relations) in 2011, following allegations that he publicly disseminated corruption accusations against CEL through tweets and retweets, attempted to invoke outside influence including media and authorities, and bypassed prescribed internal grievance mechanisms. A charge-sheet dated 12 July 2017 culminated in a departmental enquiry holding the charges proved, pursuant to which the Disciplinary Authority imposed dismissal on 5 October 2018, later modified by the Appellate Authority to removal from service on 28 November 2018. While the High Court declined to interfere with the findings of misconduct or accept pleas of mala fides or bias, it held that the penalty of removal was disproportionate, set aside the impugned orders only to that extent, and remitted the matter to the competent authority for reconsideration of penalty, leaving the findings on guilt undisturbed.

Legal Issue

Whether CEL’s disciplinary action, culminating in dismissal (modified in appeal to removal), based on alleged misconduct involving (i) public dissemination of corruption allegations via tweets/retweets, (ii) attempting to bring “outside influence”, and (iii) bypassing internal channels, was vitiated by mala fides/bias or otherwise warranted interference in writ jurisdiction; and, even if misconduct stood proved, whether the terminal penalty was disproportionate.  

Brief Facts

Madanjit Kumar joined Central Electronics Limited (CEL) in 1993 and rose to Senior Manager (Public Relations) by 2011.  ? He had faced earlier disciplinary episodes, some of which did not culminate in sustained penalties.  ? Against the backdrop of CAG observations regarding irregularities and the petitioner’s PIL seeking inquiry into CEL’s affairs, CEL issued a charge-sheet (12 July 2017) under its Conduct, Discipline and Appeal Rules, 1976, alleging, in substance, that he publicly amplified allegations of corruption (including through tweets), attempted to mobilise external authorities/media pressure (including through communications involving his spouse), and bypassed prescribed internal routes.  ? A departmental enquiry found charges proved; the Disciplinary Authority imposed dismissal (5 October 2018), and the Appellate Authority, while affirming guilt, modified the penalty to removal (28 November 2018).  

Judgment

The Court reaffirmed the narrow compass of judicial review in service disciplinary matters: it will not re-appreciate evidence or sit in appeal over departmental findings, absent perversity, breach of natural justice, or “no evidence”.  ? On mala fides/bias, the Court held that a plea of retaliatory action cannot rest on insinuation; it must be pleaded with particulars and supported by cogent material, which was not shown merely because the CMD acted as Disciplinary Authority and the petitioner had criticised management or filed a PIL.  On merits, the Court accepted that speech rights subsist but are mediated in service through conduct rules designed to preserve discipline and institutional propriety; the admitted foundational acts (tweets/communications) could, in departmental assessment, attract the relevant misconduct provisions, and the findings were not perverse.  However, on proportionality, the Court found a “manifest imbalance” between the proved misconduct and the civil consequence of severance, noting the lack of calibrated reasoning as to why a lesser major penalty would be inadequate, alongside the petitioner’s long service. The impugned orders were therefore set aside only to the extent they imposed “removal from service”, and the matter was remitted to the competent authority to reconsider penalty afresh within six weeks; findings on misconduct were left undisturbed.  

Access the official judgement/order here

Court

Delhi High Court  

Case Name

Madanjit Kumar v. Central Electronics Limited  

Neutral Citation

Not reflected on the face of the uploaded order / the court PDF excerpt available here.  

Date

10 February 2026 (Reserved on 05 January 2026).  

Bench

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sanjeev Narula.