( 1 ) BY this petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India the petitioner has challenged the judgment and order of the Gujarat Civil Services Tribunal in appeal No. 171 of 87 dated 20th May 1988, confirming the order of compulsory retirement of the petitioner from service dated 22nd of February 1985, passed by the Director, National Cadet Corps (N. C. C.), Gujarat State.

( 2 ) IN order to appreciate the challenge to the aforesaid order in its proper perspective, it would be necessary to set out few relevant facts hereunder :

( 3 ) THE petitioner was recruited as junior Clerk in National Cadet Corps (N. C. C.) on 7th July 1956 and came to be promoted to the post of Senior Clerk on 10th April 1958 and then further promoted to the post of Head Clerk on 11th December 1964. At the relevant time the petitioner was serving as Head Clerk and she came to be transferred to visnagar by order dated 2nd March 1981. The petitioner proceeded on sick leave without joining her duties at Visnagar. Her sick leave was sanctioned from 14th march 1981 to 30th September 1981. It appears that even thereafter the petitioner could not resume her duties as her husband was then serving in Baroda municipal Corporation and it was not possible for her to stay alone at Visnagar, leaving her husband and children in helpness position at Baroda. It appears that the petitioner has also addressed various representations to the authorities, requesting the authorities to consider her case sympathetically and to bring her back to Baroda or place nearer to Baroda. ,

( 4 ) IT appears that by order 17th december 1982, she was transferred from visnagar to Godhra though it is the case of the petitioner that such order of transfer was never served upon her.

( 5 ) BECAUSE of continued absenteeism from her duties, charge-sheet dated 11th october 1983 was served on the petitioner. By the said charge-sheet, it was alleged against the petitioner that she has wilfully or unauthorisedly remained absent from duty without any justifiable cause. The petitioner filed reply to the said charge-sheet on 5th July 1984 and thereafter, since the explanation of the petitioner was not acceptable to the disciplinary Authority, the regular departmental enquiry was held into the charges levelled against the petitioner by the aforesaid charge-sheet. The enquiry was conducted on 22nd of August 1984 and Enquiry Officer submitted his report on 23rd August 1984 and, thereafter, notice to show cause was served upon the petitioner dated 16th October 1984, calling upon the petitioner to show cause as to why proposed penalty of compulsory retirement should not be inflicted on her. The petitioner filed reply to such show cause notice and ultimately the impugned order dated 22nd February 1985, was passed, whereby the Disciplinary authority ordered the penally of compulsory retirement from service with effect from the date of the service of said order on the petitioner.

( 6 ) BEING aggrieved by the order of compulsory retirement dated 22nd february 1985, the petitioner preferred appeal to the Gujarat Civil Services tribunal, which came to be decided by the Tribunal by the impugned judgment and order dated 20th May 1988. The appeal of the petitioner was dismissed by the Tribunal and the penalty of compulsory retirement imposed on the petitioner was upheld. It is against the aforesaid orders that the present petition is directed.

( 7 ) MR. A. K. Clerk, learned Counsel appearing for the petitioner has mainly submitted that the order passed by the disciplinary Authority and as confirmed by the Tribunal is vitiated in law inasmuch as it is arbitrary, excessive, unreasonable, irrational and disproportionate and that the same is, therefore, violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. He submitted that the Disciplinary Authority as well as the Tribunal ought to have taken a more informed approach to the problem and ought not to have passed an order of economic death penalty espec