Case: D. Ramaswami Vs. State of Tamil Nadu

An order of pre-mature retirement following close upon the heels of promotion and appointment to a coveted Selection post is bound to perplex any right thinking man and make him wonder whether the right hand knows what the left hand has done. If in the month of May a Government servant is found to possess such high merit and ability, which naturally includes integrity, as to entitle him not merely to be promoted to a selection post but to be appointed to a very responsible and much desired post in that cadre, what could have happened between May and September to merit his being weeded out altogether from service in September under the rule which enables the Government to retire a Government servant in the public interest after he has attained the age of SO years or after he has completed 25 years of qualifying service. One would expect that some grave and grim situation had developed in the interregnum to warrant the pursuit of such a drastic course. But surprisingly, we found nothing whatsoever had happened in this case during that period. Let us look at the totality of theappellant appears to have had quite a noteworthy career. A Starting at the lowest rung as a Lower Division Clerk in 1953, he was promoted as an Assistant Commercial Tax officer in 1954, next as a Deputy Commercial Tax officer in 1957, then as a Joint Commercial Tax officer in 1962, thereafter as a Commercial Tax officer in 1966, later as an Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes in 1972 and finally as Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes on 7-5-1975. On promotion as Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes he was posted as Member of the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal in the same cadre. On September 28, 1975, he was retired under Fundamental Rule 56(d). His Service Book shows that he had an excellent record of service. He had earned several encomiums, commendations and appreciations. The several promotions gained by him react his good record of service. But there was one dark spot. In 1969 when he was working as Commercial Tax officer it was noted in his Confidential file by the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes asCommercial Tax officer is a very intelligent and capable officer who kept the entire district under his control in perfect discipline. Unfortunately, his reputation is not at all good. There were complaints that he used to threaten dealers and take money. The entire matter is under investigation by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruptionwas an enquiry by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption. Charges were framed against the appellant by the Board of Revenue. The explanation of the appellant was obtained. The Full Board of Revenue then reported that the charges should be dropped. The Government accepted the report of the Full Board and dropped the charges making the following order onthe preliminary enquiry disclosed a prima facie case of corruption, a detailed enquiry was taken up by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption. Out of eleven allegations levelled against Thiru D. Ramaswami, seven allegations were not substantiated, in the enquiry made by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption. The Government, examined the report of the Directorate and considered that there was a prima facie case in respect of certain allegations and this was sufficient to proceed against Thiru D. Ramaswami. The Board of Revenue (CT) was therefore requested to frame charges straightaway as for a major penalty against Thiru D. Ramaswami on the basis of allegati ons levelled against him. The Board accordingly framed charges against him in respect of allegations substantiated, obtained his explanation and sent its report thereon. The Full Board considered that all the charges framed against Thiru D. Ramaswami in consequence of the detailed enquiry conducted by the Vigilance Department cannot be pursued and proved. The Full Board has therefore expressed the view that the said charges may be dropped. The Government accept the views of the Full Board and direct that all the charges framed against Thiru D. Ramaswami beeffect of the order of November 29, 1974 of the Government was to grant absolution to the appellant from the repercussions of, the note of the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, made in 1969. If there was any ambiguity about the effect of the Government order, it was cleared by the circumstance that, within a few months, on May 7, 1975, he was promoted as Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes and posted as Member, Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal, a prestigious post. It has to be mentioned here that the post of a Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes is a Selection post. Under Rule 36(b) (i) of the Tamil Nadu Genera! Rules for the State and Subordinatein a service or class to a selection category or to a selection grade shall be made on grounds of merit and ability, seniority being considered only where merit and ability are approximately equal".

Reasoning: Because of his stiff attitude some of th e assessees complain about him stating that he is rude in his behaviour This perhaps is due to his unbending attitude. With a little more tact he will be an asset to thecurious feature of the case is that while the 1969 entry noted that an enquiry was pending with the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Department in regard to the allegations against. the appellant, the ultimate result of the enquiry which was that the charges should be dropped was nowhere noted in the personal file of the appellant. One wonders whether the failure to note the result of the enquiry in the personal file led to the impugned orderthe face of the promotion of the appellant just a few months earlier and nothing even mildly suggestive of ineptitude or inefficiency thereafter, it is impossible to sustain the order of the Government retiring the appellant from service. The learned Counsel for the State of Tamil Nadu argued that the Government was e ntitled to take into consideration the entire history of the appellant including that part of it which was prior to his promotion, We do not say that the previous history of a Government servant should be completely ignored, once he is promoted. Sometimes, past events may help to assess present conduct. But when there is nothing in the present conduct casting any doubt on the wisdom of the promotion, we see no justification for needless digging into the past.