IMPORTANT POINT
D.B. of High Court was right in upholding the order of compulsory retirement in view of the law laid down in the case of Baikunth Nath Das 1992(2) SCC 289.

ORDER

The appellant was compulsorily retired from service by the order dated 11.4.1994. He assailed the said order of his compulsory retirement by filing a writ petition. The learned Single Judge rejecting the contentions urged on behalf of the appellant upheld the same. The appellant pursued the matter further by filing a writ appeal before a Division Bench of the same High Court. The Division Bench of the High Court after considering the rival contentions urged on behalf of the parties and keeping in view the principles stated in the case of Baikunth Nath Das & Anr. vs. Chief District Medical Officer, Baripada & Anr. [1992 (2) SCC 299], dismissed the writ appeal affirming the order passed by the learned Single Judge. Hence the appellant is before us in this appeal questioning the validity and correctness of the impugned order passed by the Division Bench of the High Court.

2. Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that although the two contentions, namely, the order of compulsory retirement was punitive and stigmatic and that the said order was arbitrary and unreasonable, were urged before the Division Bench of the High Court, he does not press the first contention but he emphatically argued that the order of compulsory retirement is unsustainable, because the said order was based only on the one man Committee report of K.S. Rao, of which the appellant was not at all made aware; if the authorities had considered the entire material touching the service record of the appellant, reasonable view would have been different. In support of his submissions he cited few decisions.

3. In opposition, the learned counsel for the respondents made submissions supporting the impugned judgment. In particular, the learned counsel drew out attention to para 9 of the impugned judgment to contend that the entire service record of the appellant was perused by the competent authority as well as by the High Court. According to the learned counsel, no fault can be found with the impugned judgment.

4. The order of compulsory retirement was passed on the basis of the recommendation of the Screening Committee. The Screening Committee consisted of the Chief Secretary of the State, Secretary (Judicial Department) and Secretary of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department. The said Committee in its report has stated thus:

"The Committee perused the records made available by the department in respect of Dr. Jugal Chandra Saikia and has reasons to viewed that Dr. Jugal Chandra Saikia has indulged in serious malpractices in undertaking fraudulent transactions constituting the LoC scandal of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department and was indicated in the report of the K.S. Rao Committee constituted to enquire into the said LoC scandal. The Committee is also convinced that Dr. Jugal Chandra Saikia has substantially contributed in bringing disrepute to the Government with his fraudulent activities and doubtful integrity.

The Committee, therefore, is of the opinion that Dr. Jugal Chandra Saikia has both outlived his utility and is of doubtful integrity and his continuance in Government service any further would be detrimental to public interest."

5. It is evident from the report extracted above that the Committee on perusal of the records made available to it by the Department in respect of the appellant and on their subjective satisfaction found that the appellant indulged in serious malpractices in undertaking fraudulent transactions constituting the LoC scandal of the Animal Husbandry department as was indicated in the report of K.S. Rao Committee constituted to enquire into the said LoC scandal. It is further stated in the report that the Committee was also convinced that the appellant had substantially contributed in bringing disrepute to the Government with his fraudulent activities and doubtful integrity. The Committee concluded that the appellant had both outlived his utility and was of doubtful integrity and his continuance in