SC crystalises guideline for compulsory retirement
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

MAR 4: Close on the heels of the Government deciding to cut its workforce, a broad eight-point guideline for compulsory retirement has been crystalised by the Supreme Court saying a public servant can be compulsorily retired if he was no longer useful to the general administration.

"Whenever the services of a public servant are no longer useful to the general administration, the officer can be compulsorily retired for the sake of public interest," a Bench comprising Justice S Rajendra Babu and Justice K G Balakrishnan said in a recent judgement.

The bench made it clear that ordinarily the order of compulsory retirement was not to be treated as a punishment coming under Article 311 of the Constitution.

Article 311 provided that no civil servant could be dismissed or removed by an authority subordinate to the authority which appointed him without an inquiry affording him chance to defend.

Under the third rule, the Bench said "for better administration, it is necessary to chop off deadwood, but the order of compulsory retirement can be passed after having due regard to the entire service record of the officer."

While passing the compulsory retirement order, the authorities should take note of any adverse entry made in the confidential record and give due weightage to that, Justice Balakrishnan said writing the judgement for the Bench. Confidential record could be taken into consideration by the authorities as a reason for compulsorily retiring a public servant.

However, the bench warned that the order of compulsory retirement "shall not be passed as a short cut to avoid departmental inquiry when such course is more desirable."

If an officer was given a promotion despite an adverse entry in his confidential record, it could no longer be cited as a reason for his compulsory retirement, Justice Balakrishnan said and warned that the "compulsory retirement shall not be imposed as a punitive measure."

This order was passed while dismissing an appeal filed by the Gujarat Government against a High Court order directing reinstatement of an executive engineer, who was compulsorily retired while he was put under suspension.

The Bench said the inquiry against the engineer was not completed within a reasonable time and despite the Review Committee not recommending the compulsory retirement, the Government chose to retire him two years before time.

It upheld the High Court order saying the authorities did not wait for the conclusion of the inquiry and decided to dispense with the services of the respondent merely on the basis of allegations which had not been proved.

The Bench said added to this was the fact that there were no adverse entries in the service record to support the order of compulsory retirement.

Copyright © 2001 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.