Supreme Court Rules Government Employees Arrested Over 48 Hours Automatically Suspended

New Delhi, November 10 (Daily Kiran) : The Supreme Court of India has issued a significant ruling regarding the suspension of government employees. According to the court’s decision, any government employee who is arrested and remains in judicial custody for more than 48 hours will be deemed suspended automatically. No separate suspension order from the department is required for this process.

This ruling came during the hearing of a bail application concerning a manager from a government hospital in Bihar. The court expressed surprise that despite being accused of bribery and previously suspended, the employee was reinstated in the same position at the hospital.

The case involved the manager of the Sadar Hospital in Samastipur, Bihar, who allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹4,000 to process a payment of ₹36,421 owed to a complainant. He was arrested under Section 7(B) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and spent nearly 15 days in judicial custody before being granted bail by a session court.

Following the session court’s decision, the complainant challenged the bail in the Patna High Court, which subsequently revoked the bail and ordered the manager back to jail. The accused then appealed to the Supreme Court against this order.

The Supreme Court overturned the Patna High Court’s decision, reinstating the manager’s bail. However, the court emphasized that any government employee remaining in judicial custody for over 48 hours must be automatically suspended. Since the manager had spent approximately 15 days in custody, this ruling applied to him.

During the proceedings, the Bihar government’s lawyer mentioned that the manager had initially been suspended but that suspension was later revoked, allowing him to resume his position at the Sadar Hospital. The Supreme Court expressed both surprise and discontent at this development, urging the state government to address the issue promptly and take appropriate action.