The court emphasized the need for valid material to support the decision of compulsory retirement and the consideration of the entire service record before passing such an order.

JUDGMENT :

Dhiraj Singh Thakur, J.

1. The present Letters Patent Appeal has been preferred against the judgment and order dated 06.04.2017 passed by the learned single Judge in SWP No. 1372/2017. The writ court has, by virtue of the judgment and order impugned, quashed the Govt. Order No. 184-GAD of 2012 dated 13.2.2012 whereby the petitioner had been prematurely retired from service. The basis on which the writ court proceeded to quash the order of premature retirement and allowed the petition was the fact that the premature retirement had been ordered only on the basis of the registration of an FIR against the petitioner and without considering his service record.

2. However, with a view to understand the background in the light of which the present controversy has arisen, it is necessary to give a few material facts in brief:

3. Regulation 226(2) of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services Regulations authorizes the Government to retire a Govt. servant at any time after he has completed 22 years of service or attained the age of 48 years in public interest. This power is exercised by the Govt. to remove such Government servants, who are considered as deadwood, inefficient or are of doubtful integrity and considered to be corrupt.

4. For facility of reference, 226(2) of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Service Regulations is reproduced hereunder:

"226 (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in these Regulations Government may, if it is of the opinion that it is in the public interest to do so, require any Government servant other than the one working on a post which is included in Schedule of these Rules, to retire at any time after he has completed 22 years/44 completed six monthly periods of qualifying service or on attaining 48 years of age; provided that the appropriate authority shall give in this behalf a notice (in one of the forms prescribed in Annexures A and B hereto as to the case may be), to the Government servant at least 3 months before the date on which he is required to retire or 3 months of pay and allowance in lieu of such notice. Such a Government servant shall be granted pensionary benefits admissible under these rules on the basis of qualifying service put in by him on the ate of such retirement............"

5. Norms have also been prescribed by the Govt. which are required to be followed by the screening committee while exercising powers under Article 226(2) of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Service Regulations, which are as follows:

(i) The Annual Performance Report of the Non-Gazetted employees are neither normally written very carefully nor they are fully available in a large number of cases. The Screening Committee should, therefore, consider the entire service record including all material and relevant information available on record about the employee before coming to any conclusion.

(ii) The Government employees whose integrity is doubtful should be retired. For the purpose of establishing that the integrity of the Government servant is doubtful the following information/records could be considered.

Number and nature of complaints received, if any, against the Government servant pertaining to doubtful integrity or corruption.

Number and nature of various audit paras pending, if any, against the Government servant in which concerned Government servant is found to be involved.

Number and nature of vigilance cases pending inquiry, if any, against the Government servant.

Adverse entries in the APRs concerning doubtful integrity, if any.

Number and nature of departmental inquiries/preliminary inquiries, if any, which are going on against the concerned Government servant.

Number and nature of administrative censure/warnings/punishment pertaining to corruption/doubtful integrity against the Government servant, if any.

General reputation of the employees.

(iii) Government employee who is found to be ineffective should be retired. The basic consideration in identifying such employees should be fitness/competence of the employee to con