Compulsory retirement is not a punishment but cannot be used as a punitive substitute for disciplinary proceedings. Decisions must consider the overall service record, including promotions and awards, and cannot be based on pending investigations that have not yet resulted in formal charges.

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PER KRISHNA S. DIXIT, J

Appellant, a compulsorily retired forest official has preferred this Intra-Court Appeal for assailing a learned Single Judge’s order dated 04.11.2024 whereby his W.P.(C) No.12265 of 2021 has been negatived. In the said Petition, he had called in question the Compulsory Retirement Order dated 20.01.2021.

2. Learned counsel for the Appellant urged the following grounds in support of the Appeal.

i. The impugned order is punitive in nature and therefore, could not have been entered without complying with the principles of natural justice.

ii. The impugned order could not have been made, regard being had to the service credentials of the Appellant, such as two promotions, State awards and the like.

iii. The committee constituted for adjudging the credentials of service did not advert to the relevant factors and thus there is a non-consideration of the material on record to the disadvantage of the Appellant.

iv. Learned counsel for the Appellant in support of his submissions pressed into service a Co-ordinate Bench decision of this Court in Sanjaya Kumar Sahoo vs. State of Odisha¹2025 Live Law (Ori) 90.

He drew our attention to the provisions of Rule 71 of Orissa Service Code , which reads as under:

“Provided that a Government servant may be retired from service any time after completing 30 years' qualifying service or on attaining the age of fifty years, by giving a notice in writing to the appropriate authority atleast three months before the date of which he wishes to retire or by giving the said notice to the said authority before such shorter period as Government may allow in any case. It shall be open to the appropriate authority to withhold permission to a Government servant who seek to retire under this rule, if he is under suspension or if enquiries against him are in progress. The appropriate authority may also require any officer to retire in public interest any time after he has completed thirty years' qualifying service or attained the age of fiffy years, by giving a notice in writing to the Government servant atleast three months before the date on which he is required to retire or by giving three months pay and allowances in lien of such notice:”

3. After service of notice, the official Respondents having entered appearance through the learned AGA resist the Appeal making submission in justification of the impugned order of the learned Single Judge and also the Compulsory Retirement Order, pointing out the circumstances into which they culminated. He contends that the credentials of the Appellant are not that rosy as sought to be made out; Appellant did not declare the acquisition and holding of assets by his spouse contrary to Rules; he is also facing VGR Case No.47 of 2019, which eventually is registered as Balasore Vigilance P.S. Case No.13 of 2020, in which after investigation, charge-sheet having been filed, charges also have been framed by the Special Court; the Committee comprising of high functionaries of the Government after having considered all relevant factors has recommended the compulsory retirement and the Government after examining all aspects of the matter, has issued the order of compulsory retirement and therefore, a deeper examination cannot be undertaken by this Court because of conventional constraints.

4. Having heard learned counsel for the Parties and having perused the Appeal papers, we are inclined to grant indulgence in the matter as under and for the following reasons:

4.1. The Appellant came to be appointed as Forester vide order dated 08.12.1986 & he secured his first promotion as Range Officer on 05.08.1996. Further, he got second promotion to the post of Assistant Conservator of Forests with effect form 26.09.2018. He has also secured twice the State A