97 of 1976
Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India
section Ramchandra Rao and B Kanta Rao for the appellants in WP No 9776
section Ramachandra Rao and A Subba Rao for the appel lants in WP No 11476
366 Niren De Attorney General Pp
Rao Sr
Advocate and TVS Narasimhachari for the respondents in WP No 9776
P Parmeshwara Rao and G Narayana Rao for respond ents in WP No 11476
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by RAY CJ
These writ petitions challenge the compulsory retirement of the petitioners
The petitioners were retired compulsorily under order dated 23 September 1975
The order dated 23 September 1975 in the case of the first petitioner in writ petition No 97 of 1976 may be referred to as typical of orders in the case of other peti tioners
This order stated first that the said first peti tioner completed 25 years of qualifying service on 24th July 1975
The order next stated that the Commissioner of Police being the authority to make a substantive appointment to the post of Inspector of Police is of opinion that it is in public interest to retire the persons mentioned in the order
The order thereafter states that in exercise of the powers conferred by Clause a of sub rule 2sub rule 2A read with Clause a of sub rule 2 of rule 3 of the Andhra Pradesh Liberalised Pension Rules 1961sub rule 1 of rule 2rule 3 read with sub rule 1 of rule 2 of the Andhra Pradesh Government Servants Premature Retirement Rules 1975 the Commissioner of Police directs that the person mentioned in the order shall retire in public inter est from service with effect from the date of service of the order and that he shall be paid a sum equivalent to the amount pay and allowances for 3 months in lieu of notice calculated at the same rate at which he was drawing immedi ately before the date on which the order is served on him
The Government of Andhra Pradesh passed a general order dated 28 November 1975
In that Government order it is stated that in several Government orders recited therein orders for the premature retirement of the Government serv ants in public interest had been issued in those cases after giving 3 months previous notice in writing or after giving 3 months salary in lieu of such notice
The 28 November 1975 order next states that an instance came to the notice of the Government that a Government servant after compulsory re tirement as per orders mentioned above was re appointed in a cooperative institution as executive officer
Though the reappointment of the incumbent was in the Semi Govern ment Institution his re appointment was stated to be irreg ular and contrary to the intention of the Government in retiring corrupt and inefficient persons
The Government order directed that all the Departments of the Secretariat all Heads of Department and all Collectors etc should ensure that on no account persons who are retired premature ly in pursuance of orders issued by the Government should be re instated or re appointed in any Semi Government or Quasi Government Institutions
367 The petitioners challenged the compulsory retirement orders as violation of Article 16
The petitioners also challenged the Government order forbidding re appointment of compulsorily retired persons in Semi Government or Quasi Government Institutions as a stigma within the meaning of Article 311
At the outset it should be stated that enforcement of violation of Article 311 does not come within the scope of Article 32
The challenge to the Government order forbid ding re appointment of compulsorily retired persons as a stigma within the meaning of Article 311 is therefore not an infringement of fundamental rights
The petitioners challenged the orders of compulsory retirement as an infraction 0f Article 16
It is not known how the petitioners have been discriminated against other persons because no such person is impleaded as a respondent and there are no allegations to that effect
During the subsistence of the Presidential Order issued under Article 3591  it is not competent to invoke Article 14 for enforcement of any fundamental rights
Articles 14 and 16 are to a certain extent overlapping in regard to rights of equality
Equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment is not violated by provisions for compulsory retirement of Government servants in public interest after the completion of a certain period of quali fying service or attainment of a certain age
This Court has consistently taken the view that compulsory retirement does not involve any civil consequences
See Union of India vs Col J N Sinha and Another1 and Tara Singh etc
vs State of Rajasthan and Ors3 A writ petition under Article 32 can lie only for in fringement of fundamental rights
See B Narayana Murthy and Ors
vs State of Andhra Pradesh etc3 The general order for compulsory retirement is applicable to all employees
The individual application of the order in a given case cannot offend Article 16
It cannot be suggested that an order for compulsory retirement in the case of one person is denial of equality of opportunity relating to employment because another person in employment has not been compulsorily retired
Article 16 does not prohibit the prescription of reason able rules for compulsory retirement
A question arose in TC Shivacharana Singh vs State of Mysore 4 whether a rule providing for compulsory premature retirement from Government service violates Article 16
This Court said that the law in relation to the validity of rules permitting compulsory premature retirement from Government ser 1 1971 1 SCR 791
2  3 1971 Supp SCR 741
4 AIR 1965 SC 280
368 vice is well settled by prior decision of this Court which does not require to be reconsidered
The ratio is that the provision for compulsory retirement in public interest applies to all Government servants and as such it is not open to challenge either under Article 14 or under Article 16
In Shyam Lal vs Stale of UP1 the appellant had been compulsorily retired
The order was challenged as violating Article 311
This Court held that there is no stigma in volved in compulsory retirement
Compulsory retirement does not amount to a dismissal or removal and therefore it is not within the vice of Article 311
One of the petitioners namely the first in writ peti tion No 97 of 1976 challenged the order of compulsory retirement on the ground that he did not complete 25 years of service
He alleged that he was appointed on 10 Sep tember 1952 and therefore the order of compulsory retire ment dated 23 September 1975 is bad
The State on the other hand contends that the correct date of appointment of the first petitioner is 25 July 1950
In writ petitions the Court does not go into disputed questions of fact like date of appointment as in the present case
In Tata Engi neering and Locomotive Company Ltd vs Assistant Commission er of Commercial Taxes  Anr
a this Court said that the exercise of jurisdiction in writ matters is not desirable if facts have to be found on evidence
This Court has also said that there may be exceptions
One such exception is when action is taken under an invalid law or arbitrarily without the sanction of law
In the present case there is no aspect of either kind
Further it has to be observed that in the present writ petitions several petitioners have combined as petitioners
Their causes of action are separate and independent
Each is alleged to be an instance of individual assertion of constitutional right in regard to facts and circumstances of each case
Where several petitioners combine for alleged violation of their rights it is difficult for court to go into each and every individual case
In the present case the affidavit evidence on behalf of the State is preferred and therefore the first petitioner cannot agitate the question of disputed date of appointment
In Krishna Chandra Nayar vs Chairman Central Tractor Organization and Others3 this Court considered the imposi tion of a ban against one man namely the petitioner in that case from being ever taken into Government service
He was a temporary servant and his services were terminated by giving him pay and allowances in lieu of notice for one month
This Court found that case to be one of arbitrary imposition of ban against the employment or appointment one individual to an office
1  2  3 369 Krishna Chander s case supra is of no aid to the petitioners in the present case
The ban is not challenged here
In Krishna Chander s case supra the ban was chal lenged as an arbitrary act against one individual
In the present case the ban is not against anyone individually but it is not to employ in Quasi Government service or Semi Government service persons who are compulsorily retired from Government service
The ban has a reasonable basis and has some relation to the suitability for employment or appointment to an office
When compulsory retirement is made in public interest it will be an exercise in futility if Government servants who are compulsorily retired are again employed in Government service or Semi Government service or Quasi Government service
The petitioners challenged the orders for compulsory retirement also on the ground that reference to so many rules was made and therefore it was not possible for the petitioners to know under what provision the orders for compulsory retirement had been made
It is not open to the petitioners to challenge the orders on that ground
The orders specifically mention that compulsory retirement is made in public interest
The State affidavit evidence is that petitioners No 4 and 5 in writ petition No 97 of 1976 are governed by Hyderabad Civil Service Regulations and the rest of the petitioners are governed by Andhra Pradesh Liberalised Pension Rules 1961
Rule 292 of the Hyderabad Civil Service Regulations and sub rule 2 a of rule B of the Andhra Pradesh Liberalised Pension Rules 1961 are similar
Both the rules confer power on the authority to require Government servant to retire in the public interest from service on the date on which he completes 25 years of qualifying service or attains 50 years of age
Rule 21 of the Andhra Pradesh Government Servants  Premature Retirement Rules 1975 is also worded in similar language
The word ing of the rules relating to retirement in public interest is identical in all the three sets of rules mentioned above
The mere fact that three different rules
were mentioned in the impugned orders without scoring out the rules which are not applicable to a petitioner in one case cannot be any grievance for the reason that in each case the relevant rule is identically worded
The omission on the part of the officers competent to retire the petitioners in not scoring out the rules which are inapplicable to a particular individual does not render the order bad
The reason is that one of the rules is applicable to him and the omission to strike out the rules which are not applicable will not in any manner affect the applicability of the rule mentioned
Further this Court has taken the view that a wrong reference to power will not vitiate any action if it can be justified under some other power under which the Government can law fully do the act
See Hukumchand Mills Ltd vs The State of Madhya Bharat and Another1
In the present case the valid rule is mentioned in each case
1  370 The Government of Andhra Pradesh has by an administra tive order constituted a review committee for each depart ment to review orders of retirement in public interest and to revoke and modify the same if necessary
The petition ers made representations to the review committee
The petitioners yet choose to come to this court
The petition ers are not justified in applying to this court
The petitioners obtained rules in these two cases during the vacation
A similar matter came before this Court on 29 April 1976 and this Court did not issue any rule
If the attention of this Court had been drawn to that order perhaps no rule would have been issued in these matters
The Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal Order 1975 confers power on the Tribunal to exercise jurisdiction with respect to appointment allotment or promotion and other conditions of service of such persons
It is open to a person who complains about an order of compulsory retirement to approach the Tribunal in a given case
For the foregoing reasons the writ petitions are dis missed
There will be no order as to costs
MR Petitions dismissed


Summary:
On the completion of their 25 years of qualifying serv ice the appellants were compulsorily retired in public interest and were to receive 3 months salary in lieu of notice
Thereafter the respondent Government passed a general order forbidding re employment of compulsorily retired persons in semi Government institutions
The appellants filed writ petitions under article 32 of the Con stitution challenging the compulsory retirement orders as violative of article 16 and the ban on such re employment as a stigma under article 311
Dismissing the petitions the Court HELD 1 Article 16 does not prohibit the prescription of reasonable rules for compulsory retirement
The provi sion for compulsory retirement in public interest after the completion of a certain period of qualifying service or attainment of a certain age applies to all Government servants and as such it is not open to challenge either under article 14 or under article 16 and the individual applica tion of the order in a given case cannot offend article 16
367 D H T C Shivacharana Singh V State of Mysore AIR 1965 SC 280 applied
Union of India vs Col JN Sinha  Anr
1971 1 SCR 791 Tara Singh etc
vs State of Rajasthan  Ors
19753 3 SCR 1002 and B Narayana Murthy  Ors
vs State of Andhra Pradesh etc
1971 Supp
SCR 741 referred to
2 The Government order forbidding re appointment of compulsorily retired persons as a stigma within the meaning of Article 311 is not an infringement of fundamental rights and the enforcement of violation of Article 311 does not come within the scope of Article 32
The ban is not against anyone individually and has a reasonable basis and some relation to the suitability for employment or appointment to an office
367A B369 A B Krishna Chander Nayar vs Chairman Central Tractor Organisation  Ors  Shyam Lal vs State of UP   Tata Engineering and Locomo tive Company Ltd vs Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes  Anr  and Hukumchand Mills Ltd vs The State of Madhya Bharat  Anr   referred to
3 The Government of Andhra Pradesh has by an adminis trative order constituted a review committee for each department to review orders of retirement it public interest and to revoke and modify the same if necessary
petitioners made representations to the review committee and are not justified in applying to this Court
370A B