AI Drafter - (New and Powerful) 
Generate professional replies, appeals, opinions to Show Cause Notices, assessment orders, audit objections, and other legal communications using TaxTMI's AI Drafter. 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2010 (9) TMI 1297
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....bordinate Judge. 3. Consequent to the bifurcation of the State of Bihar and formation of the State of Jharkhand, the services of the petitioner were allocated to the Jharkhand State by the order of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension (Department of Personnel and Training), New Delhi dated 28th March, 2001. The petitioner was appointed as a Sub-Judge, Ranchi, vide Notification dated 21st April, 2001, issued by the High Court of Jharkhand and, subsequently, the petitioner was placed at the disposal of the State of Jharkhand as Under Secretary-cum-Deputy Legal Remembrancer and Law Officer in the Law Department vide order dated 1st August, 2001. 4. The High Court of Jharkhand recommended the name of the petitioner along with others for promotion to the post of Additional District Judge on Ad hoc basis vide letter dated 21st October, 2001. The petitioner was appointed as Additional District and Sessions Judge (Fast Track), on ad-hoc basis and was posted at Ranchi vide order dated 14th December, 2001. The High Court of Jharkhand on administrative side vide order dated 12th May, 2003 recommended compulsory retirement of six judicial officers including the petiti....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....e petition lacks merit and is liable to be dismissed. 7. We have considered the rival submissions made by learned counsel for the parties and perused the record. COMPULSORY RETIREMENT 8. In Baikuntha Nath Das and Anr. v. Chief District Medical Officer, Baripada and Anr. AIR 1992 SC 1020, this Court has laid down certain criteria for the Courts, on which it can interfere with an order of compulsory retirement and they include mala fides, if the order is based on no evidence, or if the order is arbitrary in the sense that no reasonable person would form the requisite opinion on the given material, i.e. if it is found to be a perverse order. The Court held as under: (i) An order of compulsory retirement is not a punishment. It implies no stigma nor any suggestion of misbehaviour. (ii) The order has to be passed by the Government on forming the opinion that it is in the public interest to retire a Government servant compulsorily. The order is passed on the subjective satisfaction of the Government. (iii) Principles of natural justice have no place in the context of an order of compulsory retirement. This does not mean that judicial scrutiny is exclud....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....nest an employee is, is to be assessed on the basis of the material on record, which may also be ascertained from confidential reports. However, there must be some tangible material against the employee warranting his compulsory retirement. 11. In State of U.P. and Anr. v. Bihari Lal AIR 1995 SC 1161, this Court held that if the general reputation of an employee is not good, though there may not be any tangible material against him, he may be given compulsory retirement in public interest and judicial review of such order is permissible only on limited grounds. The Court further held that: ....What is needed to be looked into, is the bona fide decision taken in public interest to augment efficiency in the public service. 12. In State of U.P. and Ors. v. Vijay Kumar Jain AIR 2002 SC 1345, this Court while dealing with the issue observed as under: Withholding of integrity of a government employee is a serious matter. In the present case, what we find is that the integrity of the respondent was withheld by an order dated 13-6-1997 and the said entry in the character roll of the respondent was well within ten years of passing of the order of compulsory retiremen....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ause the order of compulsory retirement is based on the subjective satisfaction of the authority. ...Further, it is impossible to prove by positive evidence the basis for doubting the integrity of the judicial officer. In the present-day system, reliance is required to be placed on the opinion of the higher officer who had the opportunity to watch the performance of the officer concerned from close quarters and formation of his opinion with regard to the overall reputation enjoyed by the officer concerned would be the basis. ... the lower judiciary is the foundation of the judicial system. We hope that the High Courts would take appropriate steps regularly for weeding out the dead wood or the persons polluting the justice delivery system. 15. In Chandra Singh and Ors. v. State of Rajasthan and Anr. AIR 2003 SC 2889, this Court after examining the entire evidence on record came to the conclusion that the compulsory retirement awarded to the appellant therein, Chandra Singh, a Judicial Officer, was not in consonance with law. However, considering the report of the Committee and taking note of the adverse remarks made against him, the Court refused to grant him an....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ad a low rate of disposal. On the basis of the aforesaid adverse entries, he was given compulsory retirement vide order dated 9.11.2000. This Court refused to interfere with the said order in view of the fact that he could not raise proper allegations of mala fides or establish that the order of compulsory retirement was passed without application of mind. While deciding the said case, the court placed reliance upon the judgment of this Court in Vijay Kumar Jain (supra). 17. In M.P. State Cooperative Dairy Federation Ltd. and Anr. v. Rajnesh Kumar Jamindar and Ors. (2009) 15 SCC 221, this Court held that judicial review of an order of compulsory retirement is permissible if the order is perverse or arbitrary, as also where there is non-compliance of statutory duty by statutory authority but the court should not go into the factual findings. The factors not germane for passing an order of compulsory retirement should not be taken into consideration. The criteria and rules adopted by the employer must be adhered to, to determine whether the employee had become liable for compulsory retirement. An authority discharging a public function must act fairly. 18. Thus, the law on the ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ra). 21. However, a three-Judge Bench of this Court in State of Orissa and Ors. v. Ram Chandra Das AIR 1996 SC 2436, had taken a different view as it had been held therein that such entries still remain part of the record for overall consideration to retire a government servant compulsorily. The object always is public interest. Therefore, such entries do not lose significance, even if the employee has subsequently been promoted. The Court held as under: Merely because a promotion has been given even after adverse entries were made, cannot be a ground to note that compulsory retirement of the government servant could not be ordered. The evidence does not become inadmissible or irrelevant as opined by the Tribunal. What would be relevant is whether upon that state of record as a reasonable prudent man would the Government or competent officer reach that decision. We find that selfsame material after promotion may not be taken into consideration only to deny him further promotion, if any. But that material undoubtedly would be available to the Government to consider the overall expediency or necessity to continue the government servant in service after he attained the req....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... 1976 SC 2433 at 2437; and State of U.P. v. Ram Chandra Trivedi AIR 1976 SC 2547 at p. 2555. This is the practice followed by this Court and now it is a crystallized rule of law. The answer to the question posed in Javed Ahmad case thus stands concluded and it is now not open to any one to contend that a bench of two judges cannot be overruled by a bench of three judges. We must regard this as a final seal to the controversy. 26. In view of the above, the law can be summarised to state that in case there is a conflict between two or more judgments of this Court, the judgment of the larger Bench is to be followed. More so, the washed off theory does not have universal application. It may have relevance while considering the case of government servant for further promotion but not in a case where the employee is being assessed by the Reviewing Authority to determine whether he is fit to be retained in service or requires to be given compulsory retirement, as the Committee is to assess his suitability taking into consideration his "entire service record". 27. The instant case is to be examined in the light of the aforesaid settled legal propositions. 28. Some of the ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ve of the fact that the adverse entries had not been communicated to him and the officer had been promoted earlier in spite of those adverse entries. More so, a single adverse entry regarding the integrity of an officer even in remote past is sufficient to award compulsory retirement. The case of a Judicial Officer is required to be examined, treating him to be differently from other wings of the society, as he is serving the State in a different capacity. The case of a Judicial Officer is considered by a Committee of Judges of the High Court duly constituted by Hon'ble the Chief Justice and then the report of the Committee is placed before the Full Court. A decision is taken by the Full Court after due deliberation on the matter. Therefore, there is hardly any chance to make the allegations of non- application of mind or mala fide. 30. Be that as it may, the service record of the petitioner revealed that he had not been promoted in the regular cadre of the District Judge as he was not found fit for the same because of the adverse entries. Petitioner was promoted as Additional District Judge on Ad hoc basis and posted in the Fast Track Court. It was definitely not a promotio....