The importance of approaching the court with clean hands and the employer's right to remove 'dead wood' employees.

JUDGMENT :

DINESH KUMAR SINGH, J.

1. The petitioner, who was working as Administrative Officer in Zila Panchayat, Hardoi, having been compulsorily retired from service vide order dated 15.09.2020, has filed this writ petition, impugning the said order of compulsorily retirement passed by the Chairman, Zila Panchayat, Hardoi.

2. The petitioner was selected and appointed on the post of Second Grade Clerk vide order dated 20.12.1989 passed by the Uper Mukhya Adhikari, Zila Panchayat, Hardoi; his services were confirmed vide order dated 27.12.1990; in 1999, he was promoted as First Class Clerk and Departmental Selection Committee in its meeting dated 14.05.2012 recommended him to be promoted as Section Head Clerk (Tax) on temporary basis and, the said recommendation was accepted by the Chairman of the Zila Panchayat; the petitioner assumed the charge of the Section Head Clerk (Tax) on 17.05.2012; the petitioner was further promoted as Administrative Officer vide order dated 19.05.2015.

3. The petitioner's integrity was not certified for the Financial Year 2016-17. The Uper Mukhya Adhikari, respondent no. 4, considering service record of the petitioner and, his work and conduct, recommended for his premature retirement vide order dated 15.04.2017.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the Screening Committee constituted for assessing the service record of Class-III and Class-IV employees of the Zila Panchayat in the year 2017 did not assess the petitioner for being compulsorily retired. It has been further submitted that on 11.09.2020 a meeting of the Board of Zila Panchayat was scheduled for which agenda/karya soochi was published on 28.09.2020, which was sent to all the members of the Zila Panchayat. In the agenda, there was no proposal to take action against the petitioner. Despite the premature retirement of the petitioner, not being in the Agenda, the Zila Panchayat, in its meeting dated 11.09.2020, approved the resolution of the Board of Zila Panchayat dated 11.09.2020 for petitioner's retirement compulsorily. It has been further submitted that neither the Agenda of compulsorily retirement of the petitioner was published nor served on any members of the Zila Panchayat and, therefore, the resolution of the Board of the Zila Panchayat dated 11.09.2020, so far as the petitioner's compulsorily retirement is concerned, is wholly not sustainable in law. The Chairman of the Zila Panchayat, on the basis of the decision taken by the Board, has passed the impugned order dated 15.09.2020 whereby the petitioner has been directed to be retired compulsorily.

5. Paragraphs 31, 32 and 33 of the petition are extracted herein below in which it has been specifically stated that no screening committee was constituted to assess the petitioner's service record for taking a decision of his retirement compulsorily from services:-

"31.That the petitioner humbly submits that to declare an employee as deed wood and to take further action to have his premature retirement it was incumbent upon the opp. parties to constitute a screening committee which could look into the A.C.R. of the petitioner and recommend accordingly by forming its opinion regarding the employee under screening, which in the instant case nothing was done and the compulsory retirement was sought to be doe by way of punishment which is not sustainable under law.

32. That the Government of U.P. vide G.O. dated 06 February, 1989 has mandated to form screening committee to assess an employee for the purposes of the premature retirement and further it was mandated that once a report is obtain and the employee is not retired compulsorily, he should not be subjected every year for being screened. The true photo copy of the G.O. dated 06 February, 1989 is being annexed herewith as Annexure NO. 23 to this writ petition.

33. That the petitioner craves leave of this Hon'ble Court to State that once the opp. parties did not take action in pursuance the entry dated 15.04.2017 and no scre