Justice Maulik Shelat, however, clarified that the disciplinary authority must independently assess whether the employee's conduct leading to conviction warrants dismissal. The court stressed that punishment orders cannot be passed mechanically; the authority must record its satisfaction after considering criminal court's judgment and circumstances of the case.

The ruling came while upholding the dismissal of a police constable convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The petitioner's counsel argued that termination without a hearing violated principles of natural justice, citing service rules and earlier HC judgments. The government counsel countered that under Article 311(2)(a) of the Constitution, no prior notice is required once a government servant is convicted.

After reviewing submissions, previous Gujarat HC rulings and Supreme Court precedents, the bench upheld the termination. The HC observed, that in a case where a government servant has been convicted on a criminal charge, the disciplinary authority only requires to consider whether the conduct leading to conviction warrants penalty. This has to be done ex parte, without hearing the concerned government servant, due to the exclusionary effect of the second proviso to Article 311(2)(a), it added.