The Bombay High Court’s Aurangabad bench has ruled that a matrimonial dispute cannot be treated as an offence involving “moral turpitude” and cannot be used to block an employee’s right to career advancement.
“This is a case of matrimonial, i.e., personal dispute between the petitioner and his wife. It is difficult to hold that such offence can be termed as offence relating to moral turpitude, which may have an impact on the entitlement of the petitioner to pursue his educational upliftment,” Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Santosh Chapalgaonkar said in their order.
The case involved a government medical officer posted at a Primary Health Centre in Nanded, who had been denied a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to appear for a post-graduate entrance exam (AIAPGET-2024). The denial came after his employer’s deputy director revoked a previously issued NOC, citing a pending criminal case under Section 498-A of the IPC filed against the officer by his spouse.
The petitioner had cleared the exam after receiving the initial NOC. But the deputy director subsequently withdrew it, arguing that the pending criminal charges disqualified him.
The court quashed the revocation and declared the petitioner eligible, holding that criminal charges arising from personal matrimonial conflicts are distinct from professional misconduct or offences of moral turpitude. The court observed that the 2023 Government Resolution’s intent was to restrict officials under investigation for work-related misconduct, not personal disputes.
The ruling reinforces a principle with direct implications for HR policy. Employers using pending matrimonial litigation as grounds to deny promotions, transfers, or career development opportunities may find their decisions challenged on similar legal reasoning.
