CWP No. 1828 of 2009

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH

CWP No. 1828 of 2009

Date of decision: 04.05.2010

Darshan Lal (No. 870680247 Rank Constable/Driver) s/o Sh. Baldev Raj

...... PETITIONER

VERSUS

Union of India and others

....... RESPONDENTS

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH

Present:

Mr. Rajeev Anand, Advocate,

for the petitioner.

Ms. Anjali Kukar, Central Government Counsel,

for the respondents.

***

AUGUSTINE GEORGE MASIH, J.

Challenge in the present writ petition has been posed to the

voluntary retirement to be effective from 01.11.2008 granted to the

petitioner vide order dated 24.07.2008 (Annexure P-5) being arbitrary,

illegal on the ground that the request for voluntary retirement was

withdrawn by the petitioner through application dated 15.09.2008

(Annexure P-6) and 16.10.2008 (Annexure P-7) as the petitioner was

CWP No. 1828 of 2009

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retired from service in contravention of the law laid down by the Hon'ble

Supreme Court. A further prayer was made that the petitioner was entitled

to extra-ordinary pension for disability suffered while on duty as per the

Central Civil Services (Extra-Ordinary Pension) Rules, 1939.

Briefly the facts of the case are that the petitioner was enrolled

as combatised member of the Central Reserve Police Force (hereinafter

referred to as the 'CRPF') in the cadre of Driver on the rank of Constable.

He was enlisted on 25.11.1987 and performed his duties as per the orders

to the utmost satisfaction of his superior officers. The petitioner was

performing counter insurgency duties in the year 1989 while there was

spurt of militant/terrorist activities in Punjab and Chandigarh. While

performing bona-fide Government duty, the petitioner met with a road

accident on 20.09.1989 which resulted in injury to the Right

Tibia/Fibula/Clavicle and Femur with intra medullary nail fitted in right femur

after surgery. The petitioner recovered from the said injury and thereafter

performed duties at Srinagar in the year 1990-91, from year 1991-97 at

Group Centre Pinjore, 1997-2000 under 121 Battalion at Gurgaon, Delhi,

Assam and Jalandhar Group Centre. In August, 2007, the petitioner was

posted to Group Centre Pinjore. Owing to his injuries, the petitioner was

reverted from Motor Transport cadre to General duty cadre in the year

2007. The medical categorization of the petitioner took place on

04.01.2008 in the annual medical check-up and was placed in medical

categorization SHAPE-III (Permanent) by Medical Officer of the

respondent-Department (Annexure P-1). On 26.03.2008, the petitioner

was directed to appear before the Rehabilitation Board. He was told that he

cannot further be retained in service and was pressurized to give an

undertaking to proceed on voluntary retirement and faced the invalidation

CWP No. 1828 of 2009

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board which will board the petitioner out of service by declaring him totally

unfit. Accordingly, the petitioner, who was a Constable, gave an

undertaking dated 26.03.2008 that he was willing to proceed on voluntary

retirement. The petitioner submitted a representation dated 28.04.2008

(Annexure P-2) to the Inspector General CRPF-respondent No. 3

highlighting his difficulty, which he was likely to face on his voluntary

retirement. This representation of the petitioner was not taken in its true

spirit and respondent No. 3 passed the order dated 14.06.2007 (Annexure

P-3), in which it was written that if the petitioner was refusing to go on

voluntary retirement then his services be prematurely terminated by

invaliding him out of service. The petitioner thereafter received instructions

wherein he was intimated that he should give an option whether to proceed

on voluntary retirement or face the invalidation Board. The petitioner gave

a representation dated 15.07.2008 (Annexure P-4) addressed to

respondent No. 4 requesting