Bona fide compulsory retirement must be in public interest, not a cloak for punishment or collateral considerations.
Compulsory retirement under Rule 74(b)(ii) of the Bihar Service Code must be exercised bona fide in public interest and cannot serve as a disguise for punishment. The form of the order is not decisive; where the surrounding record shows that it rests on allegations of misconduct, grave financial irregularities, or a pre-judged adverse report, the Court may lift the veil and examine its real character. If the true basis is misconduct, the order is punitive in substance and attracts Article 311(2) protection. An order based on collateral considerations and lacking fairness is arbitrary and contrary to natural justice; the stated conclusion was that the retirement order was illegal.
Issues: Whether the order of compulsory retirement issued under Rule 74(b)(ii) of the Bihar Service Code was a bona fide retirement in public interest or a punitive order passed on extraneous considerations and therefore unconstitutional.
Analysis: Rule 74(b)(ii) empowers the appointing authority to require compulsory retirement in public interest, but the power must be exercised bona fide and cannot be used as a disguise for punishment. The form of the order is not conclusive. Where the surrounding material shows that the order is founded on allegations of misconduct, grave financial irregularities, or a pre-judged adverse report, the Court may lift the veil and examine the true character of the action. If the real basis of the order is misconduct, the order is punitive in substance and attracts the protection of Article 311(2) of the Constitution of India. An order based on collateral considerations and passed without fairness is also arbitrary and contrary to natural justice.
Conclusion: The compulsory retirement order was not bona fide, was passed for collateral purposes as a punitive measure, and was illegal.
Ratio Decidendi: Even if an order of compulsory retirement is worded innocuously, it is liable to be struck down where the record shows that it was ically founded on misconduct and used as a cloak for punishment rather than as a bona fide measure in public interest.
TaxTMI 
AI Drafter ✕
TaxTMI 
