Civil Appeal Nos 12 and 13 of 1977
From the Judgement and order dated 17 11 1976 of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in Writ Appeal Nos
591 59276
U R Lalit R N Sachthey and Girish Chandra for the Appellant in C A 1277
M Abdul Khadar and G Narayana Rao for the Appellant in CA 13177
T section Krishna Murthy Iyer and A Subba Rao for the Respondent
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by FAZAL ALI J
These two appeals one by the State of Andhra Pradesh and the other by the Union of India by certificate are directed against a Division Bench Judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court dated 17 11 1977 confirming the decision of a Single Judge by which an order passed by the Central Government compulsorily retiring M E Reddy respondent No I hereinafter referred to 740 as Reddy from service in public interest was quashed in a writ petition filed before the High Court
The facts of the case lie within a very narrow compass particularly in view of the fact that we have decided not to go into the question of malafide alleged against respondent No 3 Mr K Brahmanand Reddy before the High Court because Reddy in a previous Writ filed in the High Court against the order of suspension had expressly withdrawn all the allegations against Mr K Brahmanand Reddy respondent No 3 in the High Court
We shall however touch the fringes of this question so far as it directly affects the order impugned passed by the Government of India
Reddy started his career in the Police Service as Deputy Superintendent of Police in the year 1948
In the year 1958 Reddy was appointed to the Indian Police Service and 1952 was the year of his allotment
On 31 7 1958 Reddy was promoted as Superintendent of Police in the State of Andhra Pradesh and held charge of a number of Districts from time to time
Reddy was also awarded the President Police Medal near about the 14th August 1967 but the award of the President Police Medal was withheld as Reddy was placed under suspension by the Government on 11 8 1967 pending departmental enquiry into a number of allegations made against him
It is not necessary for us to detail those allegations which are not germane for the purpose of deciding these appeals
In 1969 Reddy filed a writ petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court praying that the order of suspension passed against him dated 11 8 1967 may be quashed as it was passed on false allegations and at the instance of Mr K Brahmanand Reddy who was the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh at that time
A large number of Limitations in support of the plea of malice were made by Reddy
The writ petition was admitted by the High Court which passed an order dated 17 7 1969 staying all further proceedings including the written statement by Reddy to the six charges framed against him by the department
When the writ came up for hearing before the single Judge the State Government represented to the High Court that it had decided to withdraw the order of suspension and reinstate the respondent No 1 Reddy
The State Government accordingly withdrew the order of suspension and directed that the period of suspension may be treated as on duty
Thereafter Reddy filed an application before the High Court seeking permission to withdraw the petition as also the allegations made in the petition against the Chief Minister respondent No 3 in the High Court
The High Court accepted the 741 prayer of Reddy and allowed the petition to be withdrawn and passed A the following order It seems that orders reinstating the petitioner and virtually cancelling the suspension order are being issued
The learned Advocate for the petitioner therefore desires to withdraw the writ petition
The writ petition is therefore dismissed as withdrawn
As a result of these developments the departmental proceedings against Reddy were dropped and he was given Selection Grade which appears to have been withheld because of the order of suspension passed against Reddy
On 27 4 1971 Reddy was given the Selection Grade with retrospective effect from 6 6 1969
Thereafter by an order dated 28 4 1971 Reddy was promoted to the Rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police by the State Government
It appears that during the course of the departmental enquiry the following entry appears to have been made in the Annual Confidential Report of Reddy He is under suspension
Allegation against him is that he concocted a case against Venugopala Reddy attempt to rape to please the Inspector General of Police K K Nanmbiar
There is also a strong suspicion about his integrity
The Anti corruption Branch are enquiring into the allegations
In this enquiry allegations are proved
After the proceedings were dropped and Reddy was promoted as Deputy Inspector General of Police he made a representation to the Government that the adverse entry contained in the Annual Confidential Report may be expunged
The Government of Andhra Pradesh after considering the representation of Reddy passed the following order dated 20 4 1974 The Government after careful consideration have decided that as the statements are factual it would be sufficient if a suitable entry is made in the said confidential report to the effect that the suspension was subsequently lifted and the period was treated duty and that further action was stayed as there were no good grounds to hold him guilty of any of the charges levelled against him
3 A suitable entry has accordingly been made in the confidential report for the year ending 31 3 1968
We have expressly referred to this order of the Government to show that it completely demolishes the case of malafide pleaded by 11 625SCI79 742 Reddy against Mr K Brahmanand Reddy respondent No 3 in the High Court because if Mr K Brahmanand Reddy had any animus against the officer he would not have accepted his representation and denuded the effect of the adverse entry made at the time when Reddy was suspended
According to the allegations made by the State of Andhra Pradesh on the 7th August 1975 a Review Committee consisting of the Chief Secretary Home Secretary and the Inspector General of Police considered various cases of police officers including the case of Reddy and made their recommendations
On 11th September 1975 the Government of India after considering the report of the Review Committee ordered compulsory retirement of Reddy in public interest on the expiry of three months  notice from the date of service of order on him
This order was passed by the Central Government in consultation with the State Government hereinafter referred to as the impugned order as may be extracted thus In exercise of the powers conferred by Sub rule 3 of Rule 16 of the All India Service Death cum Retirement Rules 1958 the President in consultation with the Government of Andhra Pradesh is pleased to order the retirement of Sri M E Reddy a member of the Indian Police Service borne on the cadre of Andhra Pradesh in the public interest on the expiry of three months from the date of service of this order on him
This order purports to have been passed under sub rule 3 of Rule 16 of the All India Service Death cum Retirement Rules 1958 which reads as follows 163 The Central Government in consultation with the State Government may require a member of the Service who has completed 30 years of qualifying service or who has attained the age of 55 years to retire in the public interest provided that at least three months  previous notice in writing will be given to the member concerned
An analysis of this Rule clearly shows that the following essential ingredients or the Rule must be satisfied before an order compulsorily retiring a Government servant is passed 1
That the member of the Service must have completed 30 years of qualifying service or the age of SO years as modified by notification dated 16 7 1969 2
That the Government has an absolute right to retire the Government servant concerned because the word require clearly confers an unqualified right on the Central Government 743 3
That the order must be passed in public interest 4
That three months  previous notice in writing shall be given to the Government servant concerned before the order is passed
It may be noted here that the provision gives an absolute right to the Government and not merely a discretion and therefore impliedly it excludes the rules of natural justice
It is also not disputed in the present case that all the conditions mentioned in Rule referred to above have been complied with
It is a different matter that the argument of Reddy is based on the ground that the order is arbitrary and mala fide with which we shall deal later
On a perusal of the impugned order passed by the Government of India it would appear that the order fully conforms to all the conditions mentioned in Rule 16 3
It is now well settled by a long catena of authorities of this Court that compulsory retirement after the employee has put in a sufficient number of years of service having qualified for full pension is neither a punishment nor a stigma so as to attract the provisions of article 311 2 of the Constitution
In fact after an employee has served for 25 to 30 years and is retired on full pensionary benefits it cannot be said that he suffers any real prejudice
The object of the Rule is to weed out the dead wood in order to maintain a high standard of efficiency and initiative in the State Services
It is not necessary that a good officer may continue to be efficient for all times to come
It may be that there may be some officers who may possess a better initiative and higher standard of efficiency and if given chance the work of the Government might show marked improvement
In such a case compulsory retirement of an officer who fulfils the conditions of Rule 16 3 is undoubtedly in public interest and is not passed by way of punishment
Similarly there may be cases of officers who are corrupt or of doubtful integrity and who may be considered fit for being compulsorily retired in public interest since they have almost reached the fag end of their career and their retirement would not cast any aspersion nor does it entail any civil consequences
Of course it may be said that if such officers were allowed to continue they would have drawn their salary until the usual date of retirement
But this is not all absolute right which can be claimed by an officer who has put in 30 years of service or has attained the age of 50 years
Thus the general impression which is carried by most of the employees that compulsory H retirement under these conditions involves some sort of stigma must he completely removed because rule 16 3 does nothing of the sort
744 Apart from the aforesaid considerations we would like to illustrate the jurisprudential philosophy of rule 16 3 and other similarly worded provisions like Rule 56 j and other rule relating to the Government servants
It cannot be doubted that rule 16 3 as it stands is but one of the facets of the doctrine of pleasure incorporated in Article 310 of the Constitution and is controlled only by those contingencies which are expressly mentioned in Article 311
If the order of retirement under rule 16 3 does not attract Article 311 2 it is manifest that no stigma of punishment is involved
The order is passed by the highest authority namely the Central Government in the name of the President and expressly excludes the application of rules of natural justice as indicated above
The safety valve of public interest is the most powerful and the strongest safeguard against any abuse or colourable exercise of power under this Rule
Moreover when the Court is satisfied that the exercise of power under the rule amounts to a colourable exercise of jurisdiction or is arbitrary or made it can always be struck down
While examining this aspect of the matter the Court would have to act only on the affidavits documents annexures notifications and other papers produced before it by the parties
It cannot delve deep into the confidential or secret records of the Government to fish out materials to prove that the order is arbitrary or mala fide
The Court has however the undoubted power subject to any privilege or claim that may be made by the State to send for the relevant confidential personal file of the Government servant and peruse it for its own satisfaction without using it as evidence
It seems to us that the main object of this Rule is to instil a spirit of dedication and dynamism in the working of the State Services so as to ensure purity and cleanliness in the administration which is the paramount need of the hour as the Services are one of the pillars of our great democracy
Any element or constituent of the Service which is found to be lax or corrupt inefficient or not up to the mark or has outlived his utility has to be weeded out
Rule 16 3 provides the methodology for achieving this object
We must however hasten to add that before the Central Government invokes the power under Rule 16 3 it must take particular care that the rule is not used as a ruse for victimisation by getting rid of honest and unobliging officers in order to make way for incompetent favourites of the Government which is bound to lead to serious demoralisation in the Service and defeat the laudable object which the rule seeks to subserve
If any such case comes to the notice of the Government the officer responsible for advising the Government must be strictly dealt 745 with
Compulsory retirement contemplated by the aforesaid rule is designed to infuse the administration with initiative and activism so that it is made poignant and piquant specious and subtle so as to
meet the expanding needs of the nation which require exploration of fields and pastures now
Such a retirement involves no stain or stigma nor does it entail any penalty or civil consequences
In fact the rule merely seeks to strike a just balance between the termination of the completed career of a tired employee and maintenance of top efficiency in the diverse activities of the administrating
An order of compulsory retirement on one hand causes no prejudice to the Government servant who is made to lead a restful life enjoying full pensionary and other benefits and on the other gives a new animation and equanimity to the Services
The employees should
try to understand the true spirit behind the rule which is not to penalise them but amounts just to a fruitful incident of the Service made in the larger interest of the country
Even if the employee feels that he has suffered he should derive sufficient solace and consolation from the fact that this is his small contribution to his country for every good cause claims its martyr
These principles are clearly enunciated by a series of decisions of this Court starting from Shyam Lals1 case to Nigams 2 case which will be referred to hereafter
In the case of Shyam Lal vs The State cf Uttar Pradesh  Anr1 This Court clearly held that compulsory retirement does not amount to removal or termination nor does it involve any stigma
In this connection a Bench of 5 Hon ble Judges of this Court observed as follows There is no such element of charge or imputation in the case of compulsory retirement
The two require ments for compulsory retirement are that the officer has completed twentyfive years  service and that it is in the public interest to dispense with his further services
It is true that this power of compulsory retirement may be used when the authority exercising this power cannot substantiate the misconduct which may be the real cause for taking the action but what is important to note is that the directions in the last sentence in Note l to article 465 A 746 make it abundantly clear that an imputation or charge is not in terms made a condition for the exercise of the power
In other words a compulsory retirement has no stigma or implication of misbehaviour or incapacity
The more important thing is to see whether by compulsory retirement the officer loses the benefit he has earned as he does by dismissal or removal
The answer is clearly in the negative
The second element or determining whether a termination of service amounts to dismissal or removal is therefore also absent in the case of termination of service brought about by compulsory retirement
The foregoing discussion necessarily leads us to the conclusion that a compulsory retirement does not amount to dismissal or removal and therefore does not attract the provisions of Article 311 of the Constitution or of rule 55
The same principle was reiterated by another Bench of S Hon ble Judges of this Court in the case of T G Shivacharan Singh  Ors
vs The State of Mysore1 In this case the Court was considering the scope of rule 285 which was almost in the same terms as rule 16 3 and provided that a Government servant could be retired after completing qualifying service of 30 years or on attaining the age of 50 years if such retirement was considered in public interest
In this connection the Court observed as follows It would thus be clear that though the normal age of retirement under R 95 a is 55 years under R 285 it is competent to the Government to retire compulsorily a government servant prematurely if it is thought that such premature retirement is necessary in the public interest   
Mr Venkataranga Iyengar contends that this Rule is invalid because it contravenes article 14 as well as article 16 1 of the Constitution
In our opinion this contention can no longer be entertained
because it is concluded by a long series of decisions of this Court
Even the constitutionality of the provisions concerned was upheld by this Court
The leading case on the subject which has been decided some years before and has been consistently followed by latter decisions 747 of this Court is the case of Union of India vs Col J N Sinha  Anr1
This Court was considering the scope and ambit of rule 56 j which is also worded in the same terms as rule 16 3
Rule 56 3 runs thus Notwithstanding anything contained in this Rule the appropriate authority shall if it is of the opinion that it is in the public interest so to do have the absolute right to retire any Government servant by giving him notice of not less than three months in writing or three months  pay and allowances in lieu of such notice
i if he is in Class I or Class II Service or post the age for the purpose of direct recruitment to which is below 35 years after he has attained the age of 50 years
ii In any other case after he has attained the age of 55 years
D Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply to a Government servant referred to in clause e who entered Government service on or before 23rd July 1966 and to a Government servant referred to in clause f
After considering the various shades aspects purpose and object E of such provision this Court observed as follows But if on the other hand a statutory provision either specifically or by necessary implication excludes the application of any or all the principles of natural justice then the court cannot ignore the mandate of the legislature or the statutory authority and read into the concerned provision the principles of natural justice
The right conferred on the appropriate authority Is an absolute one
That power can be exercised subject to the conditions mentioned in the rule one of which is that the concerned authority must be of the opinion that it is in public interest to do so
If that authority bona fide forms that opinion the correctness of that opinion cannot be challenged before courts
It is open to an aggrieved party to contend that the requisite opinion has not been formed or the decision is based on collateral grounds or that it is 748 an arbitrary decision Compulsory retirement involves no civil consequences
The aforementioned rule 56 j is not intended for taking any penal action against the government servant
That rule merely embodies one of the facets of the pleasure doctrine embodied in Article 310 of the Constitution
Various considerations may weigh with the appropriate authority while exercising the power conferred under the rule
In some cases the government may feel that a particular post may be more usefully held in public interest by an officer more competent than the one who is holding
It may be that the officer who is holding the post is not inefficient but the appropriate authority may prefer to have a more efficient officer
It may further be that in certain key posts public interest may require that a person of undoubted ability and integrity should be there
There is no denying the fact that in all organisations and more so in government organisations there is good deal of dead wood
It is in public interest to chop off the same
Fundamental Rule 56 j holds the balance between the rights of the individual government servant and the interests of the public
While a minimum service is guaranteed to the government servant the government is given
power to energies its machinery and make it more efficient by compulsorily retiring those who in its opinion should not be there in public interest
The observations made above clearly reveal the object of this rule and lay down that where an officer concerned is of doubtful integrity he can be compulsorily retired under this rule
Mr Krishnamurthy Iyer appearing for Reddy submitted that the order impugned is passed on materials which are non existent in as much as there are no adverse remarks against Reddy who had a spotless career throughout and if such remarks would have been made in his confidential reports they should have been communicated to him under the rules
This argument in our opinion appears to be based on a serious misconception
In the first place under the various rules on the subject it is not every adverse entry or remark that has to be communicated to the officer concerned
The superior officer may make certain remarks while assessing the work and conduct of the subordinate officer based on his personal supervision or contact
Some of these remarks may be purely innocuous or may be connected with general reputation of honesty or integrity that a particular officer enjoys
It will indeed be difficult if not impossible to prove by positive evidence 749 that a particular officer is dishonest but those who has had the opportunity to watch the performance of the said officer from close quarters are in a position to know the nature and character not only of his performance but also of the reputation that he enjoys
The High Court has also laid great stress on the fact that as adverse entries had not been communicated to Reddy therefore the order impugned is illegal
We find ourselves unable to agree with the view taken by the High Court or the argument put forward by learned counsel for Reddy
Moreover the appellant had denied in their counter affidavit at page 59 Vol
II that there was no adverse entry against the officer concerned prior to 1968
This averment is contained in para 6 of the counter affidavit filed by Under Secretary to the Government of India in the High Court
This aspect as considered by this Court in the case of R L Butail vs Union of India orsl and the matter is concluded by the very apt observations made by Hidayatullah CJ who spoke for the Court and observed as follows These rules abundantly show that a confidential report is intended to be a general assessment of work performed by a Government servant subordinate to the reporting authority that such reports are maintained for the purpose of serving as data of comparative merit when questions of promotion confirmation etc
arise
They also show that such reports are not ordinarily to contain specific incidents upon which assessments are made except in cases Where as a result of any specific incident a censure or a warning is issued and when such warning is by an order to be kept in the personal file of the Government servant
In such a case the officer making the order has to give a reasonable opportunity to the Government servant to present his case
The contention therefore that the adverse remarks did not contain specific instances and were therefore contrary to the rules cannot be sustained
Equally unsustainable is the corollary that because of that omission the appellant could not make an adequate representation and that there fore the confidential reports are vitiated
G It may well be that in spite of the work of the appellant being satisfactory as he claimed it was there may have been other relevant factors such as the history of the appellant s entire service and confidential reports through out the period of his service upon which the appropriate authority may still decide to order appellant s retirement under FR 56  j  
750 In this case the Court followed and endorsed the decision of this Court in the case of J N Sinha supra
Here we might mention that the appellants were fair and candid enough to place the entire confidential personal file of Reddy before us starting from the date he joined the Police Service and after perusing the same we are unable to agree with Mr Krishnamurthy Iyer that the officer had a spotless career
The assessment made by his superior officers from the very beginning of his service until the impugned order was passed show that at best Reddy was merely an average officer and that the reports show that he was found to be sometimes tactless impolite impersonated and suffered from other infirmities though not all of them were of a very serious nature so as to amount to an adverse entry which may be communicated to him
We might also mention that before passing an order under rule 163 it is not an entry here or an entry there which has to be taken into consideration by the Government but the overall picture of the officer during the long years of his service that he puts in has to be considered from the point of view of achieving higher standard of efficiency and dedication so as to be retained even after the officer has put in the requisite number of years of service
Even in the last entry which was sought to be expanded through a representation made by Reddy and other entries made before it appears that the integrity of Reddy was not above board
Even in the case of State of Uttar Pradesh vs Chandra Mohan Niganm  Ors1 on which great reliance has been placed by Mr Krishnamurthy Iyer it was observed thus We should hasten to add that when integrity of an officer is in question that will be an exceptional circumstance for which orders may be passed in respect of such a person under rule 163 at any time if other conditions of that rule are fulfilled apart from the choice of disciplinary action which will also be open to Government
Thus even according to the decision rendered by this Court in the aforesaid case the fact that an officer is of doubtful integrity stands on a separate footing and if he is compulsorily retired that neither involves any stigma nor any error in the order
We might also refer to an observation made by the Single Judge of the High Court whose judgment was confirmed by the Division Bench who appears to have misconstrued a judgment of this Court and by the process of such misconception seems to have ignored the later decisions of this Court given by small Benches on the exact question at 751 issue
The learned Judge relied on the decision in the case of Madan Mohan Prasad vs State of Bihar  Ors1 in support of the view that the order of retirement even if it is in public interest violates Article 311 2 of the Constitution even though no punishment was intended
The learned Judge observed as follows In Madan Mohan vs State of Bihar supra the Supreme Court considered the validity of retirement order of a Judicial officer who for the reason that he worked for seventeen years asserted was permanent member of the service when his retirement was ordered under Bihar pension Rules of 1950 questioned the order under article 32 of the Constitution of India that it was a punishment within the meaning of article 311 2 of the Constitution of India
and then relies on certain observations of this Court in order to hold that the termination of service of the officer casts a stigma on his character and attracts Article 3112 of the Constitution
The learned Judge further relied on a decision of this Court in support of the proposition that a judgment rendered by S Judges of the Supreme Court would prevail over a judgment of a smaller Bench
So far this part of the observation is concerned there can be no doubt
But the learned Judge appears to have completely misconstrued the decision in Madan Mohan s case supra which was not a case of compulsory retirement at all nor was it a case where the officer concerned was retired under a rule like rule 56j or 163 as we have indicated in this case
On the other hand in that case what happened was that the officer was appointed as a temporary Munsif and under the terms of the notification by which he was appointed it was provided that the appointment of temporary Munsif could be terminated by giving one month s notice
The High Court it appears was not satisfied with the work of Munsif and accordingly decided to terminate his services
But the Chief Minister in one of his speeches on the floor of the House had made certain observations implying that the services of the Munsif were being terminated on account of inefficiency and misconduct
In these peculiar circumstances therefore this Court held that the termination of the Munsif even though he was a temporary servant cast a stigma and therefore attracted Article 311 of the Constitution
In this connection the Court observed as follows It seems to us that on the facts of this case the order dated January 15 1972 violates Article 3112 of the Constitution
The petitioner had first been holding a temporary post and then a permanent post for nearly seventeen 752 years
The Chief Minister s statement in the Assembly that his services were not satisfactory and the Government was considering serving show cause notice and the fact that his services were terminated without any enquiry being held would inevitably lead the public to believe that his services had been terminated on account of inefficiency or misconduct
This did cast a stigma on his character
It is therefore manifest that the facts of this case and the points involved were absolutely different from the facts of the present case
The aforesaid case relied upon by the High Court would have absolutely no application to the present case where Reddy was neither a temporary servant nor was his service terminated
The Single Judge of the High Court was therefore absolutely wrong in equating the principles of compulsory retirement under rule 163 with termination of the services of a temporary employee under the rules
Similarly the case of J N Sinha supra was followed and relied on by later decisions of this Court in the case of N V Puttabhatta vs The State Mysore  Anr1 as also in the case of State of Assam and Anr
vs Basanta Kumar Das etc
etc2 Again in the case of Tara Singh etc
vs State of Rajasthan  Ors8 it was pointed out that compulsory retirement under the provisions similar to rule 163 cannot amount to a stigma and the incidents of compulsory retirement were adroitly summed up by Ray CJ who observed as follows The right to be in public employment is a right to hold it according to rules
The right to hold is defeasible according to rules
The rules speak of compulsory retirement
There is guidance in the rules as to when such compulsory retirement is made
When persons complete 25 years of service and the efficiency of such persons is impaired and yet it is desirable not to bring any charge of Inefficiency or incompetency the Government passes order of such compulsory retirement
The Government servant in such a case does not lose the benefits which a Government servant has already earned
These orders of compulsory retirement are made in public interest
This is the safety valve of making such orders so that no arbitrariness or bad faith creeps in
753 There is no stigma in any of the impeached orders of compulsory retirement
The learned Chief Justice pointed out that having regard to the safeguards contained in the rules particularly the fact that the retirement was in public interest the safety valve of safeguarding malafide or arbitrariness in the order was clearly contained in the provision itself
J N Sinha s case supra was endorsed and followed in this case also
In a recent decision of this Court in the case of Mayenghoan Rahamohan Singh vs The Chief Commissioner Admn Manipur  Ors
the Court observed as follows Compulsory retirement is not a punishment
There is no stigma in compulsory retirement
The affidavit evidence is that the order of compulsory retirement was made in public interest
The absence of recital in the order of compulsory retirement that it is made in public interest is not fatal as long as power to make compulsory retirement in public interest is there and the power in fact is shown in the facts and circumstances of the case to have been exercised in public interest
In this case the Court was considering the scope of rule 56j which as already indicated is couched in the same terms as rule 163
Learned counsel for Reddy heavily relied on the decision of this Court in the case of State of Uttar Pradesh vs Chandra Mohan Nigam  Ors
supra and contended that as the Government of India while passing the impugned order had not considered the report of the Review Committee the order is vitiated by an error of law
We have gone through this decision and we are unable to agree with the contentions put forward by learned counsel for Reddy
The decision referred to above is not an authority for holding that the decision of the Review Committee is binding on the Government of India
All that is necessary is that the Government of India should before passing an order under rule 163 consider the report of the Review Committee which is based on full and completed analysis of the history of the service of the employee concerned
In the instant case it is clearly pleaded by the appellants in the High Court that the report of the Review Committee was in fact considered by the Government of India before passing the impugned order
The confidential file placed before us also clearly shows that on the note sheet the notes by the 754 Secretary on the recommendations of the Review Committee the Home Minister Mr K Brahmananda Reddy has appended his signatures and has passed the order that Reddy should be compulsorily retired
Furthermore in Nigam s case supra referred to above what had weighed with the Court was that after the Review Committee had submitted its report to the Government the Government ordered a second Review Committee just in order to enable the Review Committee to give an adverse report against the officer concerned
Such a course of action was condemned and deprecated by this Court
In the instant case however there is no allegation by Reddy that any second Committee was ever appointed
Even so in Nigam s case supra this Court did not depart from the ratio laid down in Sinha s case supra and followed by later cases but observed as follows As stated earlier even in the case of compulsory retirement under rule 163 an order may be challenged in a court if it is arbitrary or mala fide
If however the Government reaches a decision to prematurely retire a Government servant bona fide the order per se cast any stigma on the employee nor does the employee forfeit any benefit which he has already earned by his service nor does it result in any civil consequences
The Court at page 531 of the Report clearly pointed out that the instructions issued by the Government for constituting the Review Committee were not mandatory
We have already indicated above that this Court made it absolutely clear that where a person was retired under Rule 163 on the ground that his integrity was in question the observations made by this Court would have no application
in the instant case it has been clearly averred by the appellants that the integrity of Reddy was not beyond suspicion and the remarks were rot expressly expunged by the Chief Minister
Reliance was also placed by learned counsel for Reddy on a recent decision of this Court in the case of Smt
SR Venkataraman vs Union of India  Anr
The facts of this case however are clearly distinguishable from the facts of the present case
In that case there was a finding of fact by this Court that the order of retirement was mala fide and amounted to victimisation and the allegation made by the appellant before this Court were not only not disputed but counsel for the Union of India went to the extent of saying that he was not in a position to support the impugned order which was 755 unfair
It was in the background of these circumstances that the Court held that the order was malafide and observed as follows The appellant has pointed out in this connection that her service record was examined in March 1976 by the Departmental Promotion Committee with which the Union Public Service Commission was associated and the Committee considered her fit for promotion to the selection grade subject to clearance in the departmental proceedings which were pending against her and that she was retired because of bias and animosity
Our attention has also been invited to the favourable entry which was made in her confidential report by the Secretary of the Ministry
Mr Lekhi learned counsel for the Union of India produced the relevant record of the appellant for our perusal
While doing so he frankly conceded that there was nothing on the record which could justify the order of the appellant s premature retirement
He went to the extent of saying that the Government was not in a position to support that unfair order The influence of extraneous matters will be undoubted where the authority making the order has admitted their influence
It will therefore he a gross abuse of legal power to punish a person or destroy her service career in a manner not warranted by law by putting a rule which makes a useful provision for the premature retirement of government servants only in the public interest  to a purpose wholly unwarranted by it and to arrive at quite a contradictory result
An administrative order which is based on reasons of fact which do not exist must therefore be held to be infected with an abuse of power
These observations however do not apply to the facts of the present case
Lastly Mr Krishnamurthy Iyer learned counsel for Reddy heavily relied on a decision of the Calcutta High Court in the case of Chief Security Officer Eastern Railway  Anr
vs Ajay Chandra Bagchi on a perusal of this decision we are of the opinion that this case was not correctly decided as it is directly opposed to the ratio decidendi of J N Sinha s case supra where this Court held that the rule in question expressly excludes the principles of natural justice and therefore it is manifest that the Calcutta High Court was in error in basing 756 its decision on rules of natural justice
The Calcutta High Court in this case had observed as follows Thus even if the Railway authorities had absolute right to retire the Respondent petitioner subject to the requirements as mentioned hereinbefore and in terms of paragraph 3 of Chapter XVII of the Regulations read with item 6 of the instructions in the Form in Appendix XVlI in the admitted position of the case viz certain adverse entries were taken into consideration in having him compulsorily retired the action as taken is thus certainly against all principles of natural justice and norms of fair play and as such the action so taken cannot be supported
The said right under paragraph 3 of Chapter XVII read with item 6 of the instructions in the Form in Appendix XVIII can be used and those principles can be applied or resorted to subject to the principles of natural justice which incidentally is the restraint put on the pretended misuse of power
The High Court seemed to rely on certain adverse entries which were taken into consideration when the order of retirement was passed
We have already pointed out relying on the dictum of this Court laid down by Hidayatullah CJ that the confidential reports can certainly be considered by the appointing authority in passing the order of retirement even if they are not communicated to the officer concerned
Thus the two grounds on which the Calcutta decision was based are not supportable in law
For these reasons therefore we hold that the decision of the Calcutta High Court referred to above was wrongly decided and is hereby overruled
On a consideration of the authorities mentioned above we are satisfied that there is no legal error in the impugned order passed by the Government of India retiring Reddy
It was however contended by counsel for Reddy that reading the order as a whole it contains an odour of victimisation so as to make the order arbitrary
We are however unable to find any material on the record to show that the order was in any way arbitrary
The Government of India acted on the orders passed by the Home Minister concerned who had considered the report of the Review Committee in its various aspects
There is nothing to show that Reddy was victimised in any way
On the other hand the history of his service shows that he was always given his due
He was taken in the IPS and allotted the year 1952
He was promoted to the selection grade also at the proper time
The order of suspension was withdrawn and the departmental enquiry was dropped 757 and the officer was reinstated and later promoted as DIG These facts completely militate against the concept of victimisation
It appears that on an overall consideration of the entire history of the service of Reddy and the various stages through which he had passed it was considered in the interest of administration and to ensure better initiative and efficiency to retire him in public interest
We are also unable to find any element of arbitrariness in the impugned order
For these reasons therefore the first contention raised by learned counsel for Reddy must be rejected
It was then contended that the order was mala fide and passed because Respondent No 3 the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh bore serious animus against Reddy and wanted him to do certain things which he refused to do hence he was compulsorily retired
Apart from the fact that all the allegations regarding mala fide stood withdrawn as indicated in the earlier part of the judgment it is alleged in the counter affidavit and this averment has not been disputed before us that on 5 1 1970 the following Memo was filed on behalf of Reddy before the High Court The petitioner withdraws the writ petition including the allegations against the Hon ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh
The writ petition may kindly be dismissed as with drawn
Furthermore the counter affidavit at p 73 Vol
IV contains a letter submitted by the Second Go Pleader on 5 1 1970 the relevant part of which runs thus I have discussed the matter with the Advocate for the petitioner
He agrees to withdraw the writ petition as also the allegations made thereunder against the Hon ble Chief Minister and is prepared to file a Memo
Copy of which is enclosed herewith Once Reddy had withdrawn the allegations of malafide against respondent No 3 in the High Court it is not open to him to revive those allegations in these proceeding when the impugned order is passed
The impugned order as held by us is a bona fide order and does not suffer from any legal infirmity and therefore we cannot permit Reddy to play a game of hide and seek with the Court by withdrawing the allegations of mala fide against respondent No 3 in the High Court and then reviving them when after some time an adverse order against him was passed
Moreover if respondent No 3 was really inimically disposed towards Reddy he would not have either dropped the departmental enquiry or reinstated him or have promoted him to the rank 758 of DIG Furthermore the Chief Minister Mr K Brahmananda Reddy has himself filed a personal affidavit before the High Court which is contained at page 235 Vol
III wherein he has categorically denied all the allegations made against him by Reddy
The assertions made in the affidavit are fully supported by circumstantial evidence and the conduct of Reddy himself
For these reasons therefore the second contention regarding the impugned order being mala fide is also rejected
The result is that all the contentions raised by counsel for Reddy fail
We are clearly of the opinion that the High Court committed a clear error of law in quashing the impugned order which was fully justified by rule 163 and did not suffer from any legal infirmity and was also in consonance with the law laid down by this Court starting from Shyamlal s case upto Sinha s and Nigam s case supra discussed above
We therefore allow the appeals set aside the order of the High Court and restore the impugned order retiring Reddy
In the peculiar circumstances of the case there will be no order as to costs
SR Appeal allowed


Summary:
The respondent in the two appeals was compulsorily retired by an order dated 20 4 74 under Rule 163 of the All India Services Death cum Retirement Rules 1958
The respondent challenged the said order by filing a Writ Petition before the Andhra Pradesh High Court
A single Judge of that Court allowed the petition
The said decision was affirmed by the Division Bench in appeal
Allowing the appeals by certificate the Court  HELD 1
An analysis of Rule 163 of the All India Services Death cum Retirement Rules 1958 clearly shows that the following essential ingredients of the Rule must be satisfied before an order of compulsory retiring a Government servant is passed i that the member or the service must have completed 30 years of qualifying service or the age of SO years as modified by notification dated 16 7 1969 ii that the Government has an absolute right to retire the Government servant concerned because the word require confers an unqualified right on the Central Government servant iii that the order must be passed in public interest and iv that three months  previous notice in writing shall be given to the Government servant concerned before the order is passed
742 G H 713 A B 
The provision gives an absolute right to the Government and not merely a discretion and therefore implied it excludes the rules of natural justice
743 B 2
Compulsory retirement after the employee has put in a sufficient number of years of service having qualified for full pension is neither a punishment nor a stigma so as to attract the provisions of Article 3112 of the Constitution
In fact after an employee has served for 25 or 30 years and is retired on full pensionary benefits it cannot be said that he suffered any real prejudice
743 C D 3
The object of Rule 163 is to weed out the dead wood in order to maintain a high standard of efficiency and initiative in the State service
It is not necessary that a good officer may continue to be efficient for all times to come
It may be that there may be some officers who may possess a better initiative and higher standard of efficiency and if given chance the work of the Government might show marked improvement
In such a case compulsory retirement of an officer who fulfils the conditions of Rule 163 is undoubtedly in public interest and is not passed by way of punishment
Similarly there may be cases of officers who are corrupt or of doubtful integrity and who may be considered fit for being compulsorily retired in public interest
Since 737 they have almost reached the fag end of their career and their retirement would A not cast any aspersion nor does it entail any civil consequences
Of course it may be said that if such officers were allowed to continue they would have drawn their salary until the usual date of retirement
But this is not an absolute right which can be claimed by an officer who has put in 30 years of service or attained the age of 50 years
Rule 163 does nothing of the sort of attaching stigma
743 D H 4
The jurisprudential philosophy of Rule 163 and other similarly worded provisions like FR 56j and other rules relating to Government servants is noteworthy
Rule 163 as it stands is one of the facets of the doctrine of pleasure incorporated in Article 310 of the Constitution and is controlled only by those contingencies which are expressly mentioned in Article 311
If the order of retirement under Rule 163 does not attract Article 3112 it is manifest that no stigma of punishment is involved
The order is passed by the highest authority namely the Central Government in the name of the President and expressly excludes the application of rules of natural justice
744A C The safety valve of public interest is the most powerful and the strongest safeguard against any abuse or colourable exercise of power under this Rule
Moreover when the Court is satisfied that the exercise of power under the rule amounts to a colourable exercise of jurisdiction or is arbitrary or malafide it can always be struck down
While examining this aspect of the matter the Court would have to act only on the affidavits documents annexures notifications and other papers produced before it by the parties
It cannot delve deep into the confidential or secret records of the Government to fish out materials to prove that the order is arbitrary or malafide
The court has however the undoubted power subject to any privilege or claim that may be made by the State
to send for the relevant
confidential personal file of the Government servant and peruse it for its own satisfaction without using it as evidence
744 C E The main object of Rule 163 is to instil a spirit of dedication and dynamism in the working of the State Services so as to ensure purity and cleanliness in the administration which is the paramount need of the hour as the services are one of the pillars of our great democracy
Any element or constituent of the service which is found to be lax or corrupt inefficient or not up to the work or has outlived his utility has to be weeded out
Rule 163 provides the methodology for achieving the object
744 E G Before the Central Government invokes the power under Rule 163 it must take particular care that the rule is not used as a ruse for victimisation by getting rid of honest and unobliging officers in order to make way for incompetent favourites of the Government which is bound to lead to serious demoralisation in the service and defeat the laudable object which the rule seeks to sub serve
If any such case comes to the notice of the Government the officer responsible for advising the Government must be strictly dealt with
744 G H Compulsory retirement contemplated by Rule 163 is designed to infuse the administration with initiative and activism so that it is made poignant and piquant specious and subtle so as to meet the expanding needs of the nation which require explanation of fields and pastures now
Such a retirement 738 involves no stain or stigma nor does it entail any penalty or civil consequences
In fact the rule merely seeks to strike a just balance between the termination of the completed career of a tired employee and maintenance of top efficiency in the diverse activities of the administration
745 A B An order of compulsory retirement on one had causes no prejudice to the Government servant who is made to lead a restful life enjoying full pensionary and other benefits and on the other gives a new animation and equanimity to the services The employees should try to understand the true spirit behind the rule which is not to penalise them but amounts just to a fruitful incident of the service made in the larger interest of the country
Even if the employee feels that he has suffered he should derive sufficient solace and consolation from the fact that this is his small contribution to the country for every good cause claims its martyr
745 B D Shyam Lal vs State of UP   T G Shivcharan Singh and Ors
vs The State of Haryana AIR  Union of India vs Col J N Sinha and Anr 1971 1 SCR 791 M V Puttabhatta vs The State of Mysore and Anr   State of Assam  Anr etc
vs Prasanta Kumar Das etc
19731 3 SCR 158  167 Tara Singh etc
vs State of Rajasthan and Ors   Mayenghaon Rahamohan Singh vs The Commissioner Admn Manipur and Ors   applied
Before passing an order under Rule 163 it is not an entry here or an entry there which has to be taken into consideration by the Government but the overall picture of the officer during the long years of his service that he put in has to be considered from the point cf view of achieving higher standards of efficiency and dedication so as to be retained even after the officer has put in the requisite number of years of service
750 C D Under the various rules on the subject it is not every adverse entry or remark that has to be communicated to the officer concerned
The superior officer may make certain remarks while assessing the work and conduct of the subordinate officer based on his personal supervision or contact
Some of these remarks may be purely innocuous or may be connected with general reputation of honesty or integrity that a particular officer enjoys
It will indeed be difficult if not possible to prove by positive evidence that a particular officer is dishonest but those who have had the opportunity to watch the performance of the said officer from close quarters are in a position to know the nature and character not only of his performance but also of the reputation he enjoys
Therefore on the ground of non communication of adverse remarks the impugned orders cannot be set aside
748 G H 749 A R L Butail vs Union of India and ors and union of India vs Col J N Sinha and Anr 1971 1 SCR 791 applied
State of Uttar Pradesh vs Chandra Mohan Nigam  Ors  referred to
Madan Mohan Prasad vs State of Bihar and Ors  distinguished
All that is necessary is that the Government of India before passing an order under Rule 163 should consider the report of the Review Committee 739 which is based on full and complete analysis of the history of the service of A the employee concerned
753 F G In the instant case it was clearly pleaded by the appellants ill the High Court that the report of the Review Committee was in fact considered by the Government of India before passing the impugned order
An examination of the confidential file also confirms this
753 G H 754 A State of UP vs Chandra Mohan Nigam and Ors and section R Venkataraman vs Union of India and Anr 199 2 SCR 202 distinguished
Chief Security officer Eastern Railway  Anr
vs Ajay Chandra Bagchi  overruled
In the instant case a there is no legal error in the impugned order passed by the Government of India retiring Mr Reddy
The order is not arbitrary as could be seen from the material of the record
The Government of India acted on the orders passed by the Home Minister concerned who had considered the report of the Review Committee in its various aspects
There is nothing to show that Reddy was victimised in any way
On the other hand the history Of his service shows that he was always given his due
He was taken by the IPS and allotted the year 1952
He was promoted to the selection grade also at the proper time
The order of suspension was withdrawn and the department enquiry was dropped and the officer was reinstated and later promoted as DIG These facts completely militate against the concept of victimisation
756 F H 757 A b The impugned order is a bonafide order and does not suffer from any legal infirmity
757 G