Suspended lien in service law cannot defeat repatriation; Excise Commissioner's compulsory retirement order was upheld.

A government servant appointed substantively outside his parent cadre cannot invoke the suspended-lien rule to resist repatriation while claiming a right to remain in the ex cadre post. Rule 3.14 of the Punjab Civil Services Rules was held to protect an employee who wishes to return to the parent department, not one opposing return. Once the employee was declared entitled to continue substantively as Excise Sub-Inspector, his lien in the Police Department stood cancelled because two liens cannot subsist simultaneously in different cadres. The Excise Commissioner was therefore the competent authority to impose compulsory retirement, and the challenge failed.

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Issues: Whether the Excise Commissioner was competent to order the appellant's compulsory retirement after the appellant had been held to have a substantive right to continue in the Excise Department and his lien in the Police Department had ceased.

Analysis: Rule 3.14 of the Punjab Civil Services Rules was relied upon to contend that the lien of a Government servant appointed substantively outside his cadre should remain suspended for his benefit. The Court held that the rule is intended to protect a Government servant who wishes to return to his parent department and cannot be invoked by one who resists repatriation and asserts a right to remain in the ex cadre post. Once the civil court had declared the appellant entitled to continue substantively as Excise Sub-Inspector, he could not claim to retain a lien in the Police Department. In service law, a Government servant cannot simultaneously hold two liens in two different cadres, and the lien in the parent department must be treated as cancelled in such circumstances. The competent authority to pass the retirement order was therefore the Excise Commissioner.

Conclusion: The challenge to the compulsory retirement order failed, and the authority of the Excise Commissioner was upheld.

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