An order of compulsory retirement cannot be passed as a punishment to the petitioner.

JUDGMENT :

Raja Basu Chowdhury, J.

1. By consent of the parties, this writ application has been taken up for final hearing. The writ petitioner was initially appointed as a Light Motor Vehicle Driver sometimes in the year 1988 by the Assistant Director of the Administration. The service of the petitioner was later confirmed and he was also granted 3rd financial up-gradation vide order dated 18th June, 2018.

2. The petitioner was on medical leave for the period from 16th June, 2020 to 5th July, 2020. Records would reveal that the aforesaid leave was regularised by the respondents vide order dated 14th July, 2020.

3. It is the petitioner’s case that since, his daughter was getting engaged he had applied for leave for a period of twenty days. Unfortunately, the authorities had only granted him five days leave. The petitioner, however, did not avail such leave, on the contrary had submitted a representation on 23rd July, 2020 intimating that he wished to avail the leave for five days from 27th July, 2020 instead of 20th July, 2020. It is the petitioner’s case that by reasons of the pandemic the engagement of the petitioner’s daughter could not take place. The petitioner, however, had submitted an application on 27th July, 2020 seeking forty five days leave on account of higher studies of his daughter. In the interregnum since, the petitioner was unwell from 31st July, 2020, he had approached a doctor, who was the Medical Superintendent of G.B.Pant. Hospital, Port Blair, who had advised him rest for fifteen days.

4. Before the petitioner could recover from his illness his daughter was tested Covid positive on 14th August, 2020, and the entire family was asked to undergo quarantine for twenty eight days. It is also the petitioner’s case that since, his condition deteriorated, he had to again approach the doctor on 16th August, 2020, when he was advised further rest for sixteen days. The petitioner claims that on 28th August, 2020 the respondents had issued a memorandum, inter alia, stating that the petitioner’s application dated 31st July, 2020, whereby he had sought for forty five days leave from 01st August, 2020, had not been favourably considered by the competent authority. Following receipt of such memorandum, by a communication in writing dated 31st August, 2020, the petitioner had informed the respondents about his illness and had also indicated that if his health does not improve, he will apply for voluntary retirement.

5. According to the petitioner, the respondents without following due procedure of law, had issued the order no. 1967 dated 3rd September, 2020, thereby, while invoking the powers conferred by Clause j (ii) of Rule 56 of the Fundamental Rules/Rule 48 of Central Civil Service (Pension) Rules, 1972, notified the petitioner that the petitioner having attained 55 years of age and having completed 32 years of qualifying service for pension, shall retire from service on the forenoon of 1st December, 2020, on completion of three months period from the date of issuance of such order.

6. Challenging the aforesaid order dated 3rd September, 2020, the petitioner had filed an application before the learned Central Administrative Tribunal, Kolkata Bench. By an order dated 27th November, 2020, the learned Tribunal was of the view that the order contains detailed reasoning for invoking Rule 56 clause (j) of the Fundamental Rules, however, considering the powers of review provided for in Rule 56 (jj)(i), permitted the petitioner to make a representation, under the aforesaid rule, agitating all grounds/points which he wishes to, with a further direction that if such representation is made the same shall be considered in accordance with law, within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of such representation.

7. Incidentally, on 25th November, 2020 by order no. 2739 the disciplinary authority of the petitioner while, contemplating a disciplinary proceeding against the petitioner in terms of Central Civil Service (Classificat