Judgment

BEG, J. :- The General Manager, Southern Railway obtained Special Leave to appeal to this Court against a judgment of a Division Bench of the Madras High Court. The learned Judges, Veeraswami, C. J., and Raghavan, J., had held, in a very short judgment, a notification of the Railway Department, retiring the petitioner-respondent from service with effect from 3rd October, 1970, to be inoperative.

2. The petitioner-respondent had been appointed a temporary Clerk on 10th December, 1936, and had been confirmed in that post on 1st September, 1938. He contended that he was entitled to continue in service until he had attained the age of 60 years. He alleged that the notification retiring him had been issued on the wrong assumption that he had to retire at the age of 58 years which is the normal age of retirement. He claimed the benefit of Rule 2046 (b) of the Railway Establishment Code.

3. According to Rule 2046 (b), a Ministerial Railway Servant was entitled to the higher age of retirement provided, firstly, he had entered Govt. service on or before 31st March, 1938; and, secondly, he had held "on that date" (i. e. on 31st March, 1938), either : (i) "a lien or, a suspended lien on