JUDGMENT

SARKARIA, J.:—Special leave to appeal granted.

2. The respondent herein, M. M. Sundararajan was recruited as a Clerk in the Indian Army in the year 1943. Some time after the regiment was demobilised, he was appointed in the Revenue Secretariat of the State Government from March, 1984 in a vacancy reserved for war service candidates. He was promoted as Section Officer in April 1969 and he continued in the post till March, 2, 1976, when he was compulsorily retired from service by the appellant-State in exercise of its power under Fundamental Rule 56 (d).

3. The respondent challenged the validity of the order of his compulsory retirement by a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution in the High Court of Madras. One of the grounds of challenge was that as per procedure set out in G. O. No. 761, dated March 19, 1973, the Review Committee has to consider the cases of Gazetted Government Officers in the Secretariat headed by the Chief Secretary and not by the Departmental Secretary; and that, therefore, the order passed by the appellant-State based on the review made by a Committee which had no jurisdiction, cannot be sustained in law.

4. Following a previous decision in