Compulsory retirement must be based on relevant materials, and non-consideration of relevant materials vitiates the decision.

K.Kannan, J.

1. The head constable who had been fighting for expunction of remarks in his ACR lost the first battle when his representations were rejected and before he could take any action, he was visited with an order of compulsory retirement on the ground that his Services were no longer required in the public interest. The writ petition chalienges the order of the Inspector-General of Police dated 11 -07-2005, rejecting his application and the order of compulsory retirement that was. passed on 04-04- 2006.

II. Details of adverse entries in the ACR

2. The petitioner had joined the police department on 28-04-1978 as a Constable and later promoted as Head Constable on 25-12-1995. He had a blemished service record all along and was graded as a disciplined person with no complaint against integrity, having been further assessed as reliable with good moral character. ACR entries took a tumble when FIR had been registered against him along with another person in FIR No. 289 dated 17-09-2001 for the alleged offences under Sections 170/323/342/384/419/420/452/506 read with Section 120-B IPC with Chandni Bagh police Station. This police complaint had a direct impact in the remarks made by Superintendent of Police and in the ACR between the period from 01-04-2001 to 03-11-2001. The following entries were made :-

III. Rejection ofpetitioners representation and resultant action ofcompuisory retirement

3. The petitioner had made representations against the adverse entry stating that the criminal case was not true and it had been foisted against him. Simultaneously the departmental proceedings had been initiated against him and he was exonerated when the report of the Enquiry Officer was accepted on 10-06- 2003. The representation filed by the petitioner against the adverse remarks was rejected by the inspector-General of Police, Rohtak Range on 03-03-2005 and the further appeal to the Director-General of Police also did not result in favourable orders, when it was passed on 11-07-2005.

4. Soon thereafter, the Director-General of Police had served show-cause notice upon the petitioner on 27-09-2005 (Annexure P6) for compulsory retire-" ment from service and the petitioner had set out his objections therefor. Along with show- cause notice, the ground s/m aterial for compulsory retirement had been set out replicating the adverse entries found in the ACR after setting out the adverse entries, the communication recited "in view of the above resume of service record of HC Ranbir Singh No. 813/PPT, he has outlived his Utility as Po//ce Officer and is not fit for retaining in service any further. it has, therefore, been proposed to retire him compuisorüy in the public interest under PPR 9.18(2)".

IV. Acquittai after show cause notice

5. Immediately, thereafter the criminal Court had rendered a judgement acquitting him on 01 -10-2005. The petitioner gave his representation pointing out to the effect that the case had ended in acquittai and. the material on which the show- cause notice for compuisorüy retiring him had been taken during the pendency of the criminal case against him was no longer to be taken into consideration, having regard to the fact that he had been acquitted. The Director General of Police, however, passed an order on 14-04-2006 compuisorüy retiring him and even in the said order, he had referred to the adverse entry in his ACR for the period between 01 -04-2001 to 03-11 -2001 and that the decision was being taken after considering the reply taken by the petitioner. The order also purported to have secured the sanction of the State Government in its memo No. 5/28/2006-3HGI dated 22-02-2006. V. States justification

6. To the challenges made by the petitioner as regards expunction of adverse entries and quashing the order of compulsory retirement, the response from the State Govt. is predictable > (i) at the time when the decision had been taken to reject the adverse entries in the ACR, the criminal case was still pendi