An order for compulsory retirement under Rule 244(2) of the Rajasthan Service Rules, 1951, can be issued before the Government servant completes 25 years of qualifying service or attains the age of 50 years, provided that the retirement takes effect on a date when the Government servant has completed 25 years of qualifying service or attained the age of 50 years.

1. - The petitioner was a Judicial Officer who has been compulsorily retired under Rule 244(2) of the Rajasthan Service Rules, 1951 (for short 'the Rules' hereinafter), by an order dated July 27, 1985 issued by His Excellency the Governor. According to the petitioner this order is bad as it does not satisfy the condition of the Officer's having completed 25 years of qualifying service or the Officer's completing 50 years of age. It is also contended that there was no basis for holding that it was in public interest to compulsorily retire the petitioner. It was contended that the petitioner who was born on July 15, 1937 had not completed 50 years of age on the date of his retirement in the year 1985. It was also contended that the petitioner's date of appointment in the Rajasthan Judicial Service was August 1, 1960 and he would have completed 25 years of service on July 31, 1985. According to the petitioner, the Order dated July 27, 1985 compulsorily retiring the petitioner could not have been issued legally on that day as on July 27, 1985 he had neither completed 50 years of age nor completed 25 years of qualifying service.

2. Clause (i) of sub-rule (2) of Rule 244 of the Rules, which provides for compulsory retirement after completion of 25 years of service, reads as under:

R. 24(2). Compulsory retirement after completion of 25 years of service :-

(i) The Appointing Authority shall have the absolute right to retire in public interest any Government servant, by giving him at least three months' previous notice in writing, from service on the date on which he completed 25 years of qualifying service or on the date on which he attains the age of 50 years, whichever is earlier, or on any date thereafter:
Provided that such Government servant may be retired from service forthwith, and on such retirement the Government servant shall be entitled to claim three months' pay and allowances in lieu of notice.The requirements of Clause (i) of sub-rule (2) of Rule 244 of the Rules are completion of 25 years of qualifying service on the date of retirement or completion of 50 years of age on the date of the retirement. Three months' previous notice in writing or payment of three months' pay and allownances in lieu thereof has also been provided.

3. The Rule does not provide that the order for retirement from a future date cannot be passed in any event. It also does not require that the cases for compulsory retirement of Officers can be considered only after they complete 25 years of qualifying service or 50 years of age. The only requirement of the Rule is that on the date on which a Government servant is compulsorily retired, he should have completed 25 years of qualifying service or should have attained the age of 50 years as the case may be.

4. In the present case, though on the date of the issue of the order passed by His Excellency the Governor, the petitioner had not completed 25 years of qualifying service or 50 years of age on the date of retirement the petitioner had completed 25 years of qualifying service. Order (Ex. 1) dated July 27, 1985 clearly states that the Governor of Rajasthan on the recommendation of the Rajasthan High Court was pleased to retire the petitioner in public interest from service from the date of receipt of the order. Admittedly this order was received by the petitioner on August 3, 1985. Hence the date of compulsory retirement of the petitioner would be August 3, 1985 and not prior to August 1, 1985. It cannot therefore be disputed that on August 3, 1985, the petitioner had completed 25 years of qualifying service and there was no violation of Rule 244 (2) of the Rules in his case on that count. It has also not been disputed that the petitioner has been paid salary upto August 3, 1985 as also three months' pay and allowances in lieu of notice.

5. The petitioner has alleged that the order of compulsory retirement was mala fide passed and it was not in public interest. One of the grounds of mala fides