Holding

Compulsory retirement under Rule 16(3) is a valid exercise of the government's absolute right, does not attract Article 311(2), and the order in this case was bona‑fide, not arbitrary or mala fide.

Summary

The Supreme Court examined the compulsory retirement of M.E. Reddy, a senior IPS officer, ordered under Rule 16(3) of the All India Services (Death‑cum‑Retirement) Rules, 1958. Reddy challenged the order, alleging it violated Article 311(2) of the Constitution, was arbitrary, mala fide and denied natural‑justice safeguards. The Court held that the rule confers an absolute right on the Central Government, subject only to the statutory conditions of service length, age, public‑interest justification and three‑month notice, and therefore does not attract Article 311(2). It further ruled that the order was bona‑fide, based on a proper review committee report, and there was no evidence of victimisation or arbitrariness. Consequently, the High Court’s quashing of the retirement order was set aside and the appeals were allowed.

Issues considered

Does compulsory retirement under Rule 16(3) of the All India Services (Death‑cum‑Retirement) Rules, 1958 violate Article 311(2) of the Constitution?
Is the order of retirement arbitrary, mala fide or a case of victimisation?
Do principles of natural justice apply to a retirement order passed under Rule 16(3)?
Is consideration of the Review Committee’s report mandatory before invoking Rule 16(3)?

Legislation cited

All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement) Rules, 1958s. Rule 16(3)
Constitution of Indias. Article 310, s. Article 311(2)

Subjects

compulsory retirementRule 16(3)All India Servicespublic interestArticle 311(2)doctrine of pleasurenatural justiceadministrative law

Judgment

736

UNION OF INDIA ETC.
v.
•
M. E. REDDY AND ANR.
September 19, 1979
B [S, MURTAZA FAZAL ALI AND A. P. SEN, JJ]
Compulsory retiten1ent-Order passed in terms of Section 16(3) of tTte
All India Services (Death-cu1n-Retirement) Rules, 1958, whether in violatfon
of Articles 311(2) of the Constitution.
I
The responde.nt in the two appeals was compulsorily. retired by an order
c dated 20-4-74 under Rule 16(3) of the All ]ndia Services (Death-cnm-Retlre-
ment) Rules, 1958. The respondent challenged the said order by filing a Writ
Petition before the Andhra Pradesh High Court. A single Judge Oil' !bat
Court allowed the petition. The said decision was affirmed by the Division
Bench in appeal.
Allowing the appeals by certificate the Court,
HELD: 1. An aoalysis of Rule '16(3) of the All India Services (Death·
D cum-Retirement) Rules, 1958 clearly shows that the following essential in-
gredients of the Rule mnst be satisfied before an order of compulsorily retir-
ing a Government servant is passed : (i) that the member of the service must
have completed 30 years of qualifying service or the age of 50 years (as
modified by notification dated 16-7-1969); (ii) that the Government has an:
absolute right to retire the Government servant concerned because the word
E "require" confers an unqualified right on the Central Government servant;
(iii) that the order must be passed in public interest; and (iy) that three
months' previous notice in writing shall be given to the Government servant y ,.
concerned before the order is passed. [742 G·H, 743 A-Bl
The provision gives an absolute right to the GOvemment and not merely
;;.
a discretion, and, therefore impliedly it excludes the rules of natural justice.
[743 B] ,
F
2. Compulsory retirement after the employee has put in a sufficient number
of years of service having qualified for full pension is neither a pnnishment
nor a stigma so as to attract the provisions of Article 311(2) of the Consti-
tution. In fact, after an employee bas served for 25 or 30 years 'II!d is retired
on full pensionary benefits, it cannot be said that be suffered any real prejudU:e.
[743 C..D]
G 3. The objecl of Rule 16(3) is to weed out the dead wood in order I<>
maintain a high standard of efficiency and initiative in the State service. It is
aot necessary that a good officer may continue to be efficient for all times to
come. It may be that there may be some officers who may possess a betlel'
initiative and higher standard of efficiency and if given chance the work of
the Government might show marked improvement. .In such a case conipufsory
retirement of an officer who fulfils the conditions of Rule 16(3) is undoubted!,.
B in pliblic interest and is not passed by way of punishment. Sjn11Iarly, ~
:may be cases of officers who are corrupt or of doubtful integrity and ,v<b&
may be considered fit for being compulsorily retired in public interest. Siilce
UNION v. M. E. REDDY 737

the¥ have almost reached the fag end of their career ~d their retirement would
not cast any aspersion, nor does it entail any civil consequences. Of course~
it may be said that if such officers \Vere allowed to continue they would have
drawn their salary until the usual date of retirement. But, this is not an
absolute right which can be claimed by an officer who has put in 30 years
of service or attained the age of 50 years. Rule 16(3) does nothing of the
sort of attaching stigma. (743 D-H]
B
4. The jurisprudential philosophy of Rule 16(3) and other similarly worded
provisions like F.R. 56(j) and Other rules relating to G0vemment servants is
noteworthy. Rule 16(3) as it stands is one of the facets of the doctrine of
pleasure incorporated in Article 310 of the Constitution and is controlled only
by those contingencies which are expressly mentioned in Article 311. If the
order of retirement under Rule 16(3) does not attract Article 311(2), it is
manifest that no stigma of punishment is inv~lved. The order is passed by c
d:l.e highest authority, namely, the Central Government: in the name of the
President and expressly excludes the application of rules of natural justice~
[744A-C]
The safety valve of public interest iS the most powerful and the strongest
safegu~rd a~ainst any abuse or colourable exercise of power under this Rule.
Moreover, when the Court is satisfied that the exercise of power under the
rule amounts to a colourable exercise of jurisdiction or is arbitrary or malafide, D
it can always be struck down. While examining this aspect of the matter the
Court would have to act only on the affidavits, documents annexures, notifica-
tions and other papers produced before it by th"e parties. It cannot delve deep
into the confidential or secret records of the Government to fish out materials
to prove that the order is arbitrary or malafide. The court, has, however, the
undoubted power subject to any privilege or claim tha-t may be made by the
State, to send for the relevant confidential personal file of the Government E
servant and peruse it for its own satisfaction without using it as evidence.
(744 C-E]
The nrain object of Rule 16(3) is to instil a spirit of dedication and
dynamism in the working of the State Services so as to ensure purity and
cleanliness in the administration which is the paramount need of the hour as
the services are one of the pillars of our great democracy. .A..ny element or F
constituent of the service which is found to be lax or corrupt, inefficient or not
up to the work or has outlived his utility has to be weeded out. Rule 16(3)
provides the methodology for achieving the object. [744 E-G]
Before the Central Government invokes the power under Rule· 16(3), it
must take particular care that the· rule is not used as a ruse for victimisation
by getting rid of honest and unobliging officers in order to make way for G
incompetent favourites of the Government which is bound to lead to serious
demoralisation in the service and defeat the laudable object which the rule
seeks to sub-serve. If any such case comes to the notice of the Government
the officer responsible for advising the Government must be strictly dealt with.
[744 G-HJ
Compulsory retirement contemplated by Rule 16(3) is designed to infuse
the administration with initiative and activism so that it is made poignant and .H
piquaht, specious and stibtle so -as to meet the expailding needs of the nation
which require explanation of "fields and pastures now». Such a retirement
'738 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1980] 1 S.C.R.

A involves no stain or stigma nor does it entail any penalty or civil eonse-
quences. In fact the rule merely seeks to strike a just balance bet¥;een the _
termination of the completed career of a tired employee and maintenance of
top efficiency in-the diverse activities of the administration. [745 A-BJ
An order of compulsory retirement on one had causes no prejudice to the
Government servant Who is made -to lead a r~tful life enjoying full pen-
n sionary and other benefits and on the other gives a new animatiou. and
equanimity to the services. The employees should try to understand the true
spirit behind the role \vhich is not to penalise them but amounts just to a
fruitful incident of the service made in the larger interest of the country. Even, .
if the employee feels that he bas suffered, he should derive sufficient 6ollce and
consolation from· the fact that this is bis small contribution to the country
for every good cause claims its martyr. [745 B-D]
c Shyam Lal v. State of U.P., [1955] S.C.R. 26; T. G. Sfh·acl1ara11a Sfngfi a11d
Ors. v. The State of Haryana A.I.R. 196S S.C. 2SO; Union of India v. Col.
I. N. Sinha and A11r., [1971] 1 SCR 791; M. V. P11ttabha11a v. The Srrrte of
Mysore and .Anr., [1973] 1 SCR 304; State of Assam & A11r. etc.- v;· Prttslllrla
Kumar Das etc. [19731 3 S.C.R. ·1ss @ 167; Tara Singh etc. v. State of
Raja.sthan and Ors. [1975J 3 SCR 1002; Mayenglioa1i Rahamohan Sing'' v.
D The Commisioner (Admn.), Ma11ip1_1r and Ors., [1977] 1 _SCR 1022; applied.-
Bef~re passing an order under. Rule 16(3), it is not -an entry here or an
entry there which has to be taken into consideration by the G6vernment but
the overall picture of ·the officer during the long years of his service thM be
puts in has .to be considered from the point cf view of achieving higher
standards of efficiency and dedication so as to be retained even after the officer
has put in the requisite number of years of service. _[750 C-D] ·
E
Under the various rules on the subject. it is-not every adverse entry'or re-
mark that has to be communicated to the officer concerned. The superior
officer may make certain remarks while assessing the \VOrk and conduct of the
subordinate officer based on bis personal supervision or contact. Some of
these remarks may be purely innocuous or may be connected \vith generai
reputation of honesty or integrity that a particular officer enjoys. It will in-
F deed be difficult if not possible to prove by. positive evidence that a. parti-
cular officer is dishonest but .those who have had the opportunity ta watch
the performance of the said officer from close quarters are in a pmition to .
kno\v the nature and character; not only of his performance but also of the
reputation he enjoys. Therefore on the ground of non communicatioD. of
adverse remarks, the impugned orders cannot be set aside. [748 G-H. 7.t.'.1 A] ..
G R. L. Butail v. Union of India and Ors., [197i] 2 SCR SS and Union of
India v. Col.'/. N. Sinlza and Anr., (1971] 1 SCR 791; applied.
State of Uttar Pradesh v. Chandra Mohan Nigam & Ors., (1978] I SCR. 721;
referred to.
Mada~ Mohan Prasa4 v. State of Bihar and Ors., (1973] 4 S.C.C. 166=
H [1973] 1 SCR 630; distinguished.
All that is necessary is that the Government of India, before passing :m
order under Rale 16(3) should consider the rei;l\¥'t of the Review Committee
UNION v. M. E. REDDY (Fazal Ali, J.) 739

wb.iCh is based on full and complete analysis of the history of the service of A
_. the employee concerned. [753 F-G] .

Irt the instant case, it \V3S clearly pl1~aded by the appellants in tho High
Court that the report of the Revie\v Committee was in fact considered by the
Govenmicnt of India before passing th.e impugned order. An examination
-0f the confidential file also confirms this. [753 G-H, 754 A]
R
Srate of U.P. v. Chandra J:ohan Nig<>m and Ors. [1978] 1 SCR 721 ancL
S. R. Ve11katan11nan v. Union of India and A11r., [19i9] 2 SCR 202; distinguished.

Cln'.tf Security Officer, Eastern Railway & Anr. v. Ajay Chandra Bagchi
(191'.fl 2 SLR 660 (Calcutta); overruled.

Jn: the instaat case (a) ~here is no legal error in the- impugned order passed
by Che Government of India, retiring Mr. Reddy. The onfer is not arbitrary c
as cOdld. be seen from the material on the reconf. The Government of India
acir4 <Ht the orders passed by the Home· Ministel' concerned who had consi-
dere4 die report of the Review. Committee in its various aspects. There is
nodlli!g to show that Reddy was victimis·ed . ia any way. On the other hand,
the history of his service shows that be 'vas always given his due. lie wrui
takan to the I.P.S. and allotted the year 1952. He was promoted to the selec-
D
tion grade also at the proper time. The order of suspension was withdrawn
and the departmental enquiry was dropped and the officer was reinstated and
Jatec pronioted as D.I.G. These facts completely militate against the concept of
victimisation .. [756 .F-H, 757 A]

(b} The impugned order is a bonafide order •and does not suffer fron1 any
legal infumity. [757 GJ
E
ClvIL APPELLATE JURISDICTJON : Civil Appeal Nos. 12 and 13
of 1977.
From the Judgment and Order dated 17-11-1976 of the Andhra
Prad~h High Court in Writ Appeal Nos. 591-592/76.

U. R. Lali.t, R. N. Sachthey and Girish Chandra for the Appellant F
in C. A. 12/77.
M. Abdul Khadar and G. Narayana Rao for the Appellant in
C.A. 13/177..
T. S. Krishna Murthy Iyer and A. Subba Rao for the Respondent.
G
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
FAZAL ALI, J.-These two appeals (one by the State of Anrlbra
Pradel;h and the other by the Union of India) by certificate are
dlrected against a Division Bench Jucl'gmerit of the Andhra Pradesh
High Court dated 17-11-1977 confirming the decision of a Single H
Judge by which an order passed by the Central Government compul-
£Clli'ly retiring M. E. Reddy, respondent No. 1 (hereinafter referred to

I
749 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1980] 1 S.C.R.

.t\ as Reddy) from service in public interest was quashed in a writ peti-
tion filed before the High Court.
The facts of the cas~ lie within a very narrow compass particular~ ~
in view of the fact that we have decided not to go into the question .
of malafide alleged against respondent No. 3, Mr. K. Brahmimind .
~ Reddy before the High Court because Reddy "in a previous Writ
filed in the Hig)i Court against the order of suspension had express!y
withdrawn all the allegations against Mr. K. Brahmanand Reddy, (
respondent No. 3 in the High Court. We shall, however, touch the
fringes of this question so far as it directly affects the ·order impugned "
passed by the Government of India_.
c
Reddy started his career in the Police Service as Deputy Superin-
tendent of Police in the year 1948. In the year 1958 Reddy· ',was
appointed to the Indian Police Service and 1952 was the year .of his
allotment. On 31-7-1958 Reddy was promoted as Superintendent of
Police in the State of Andhra Pradesh and held charge of a number
D of Districts from time to time. Reddy was also awarded the Presfdetil
Police Medal near about the 14th August, 1967, but the award. of
the President Police Medal was withheld as Reddy was placed under
suspensilln by the Government on 11-8-1967 pending department~.
enquiry into a number of allegations made against him. It is not
necessary for us to detail those allegations which are not germane for
E the purpose of deciding these appeals.

In 1969 Reddy filed a writ petition in the Andhra Pradesh High
Court praying that the order of suspension passed against him dated
11-8-1967 may be quashed as it was passed on false allegations and
at the instance of Mr. K. Brahmanand Reddy who was the Cbief
F Minister of Andhra Pradesh at that time. A large number of allega-
tions in support of the plea of malice were made by Reddy. Th,e
writ petition was admitted by the High Court which passed an order
dated 17-7-1969 staying all further proceedings including the written
statement by Reddy to the six charges framed against him by the d.,,_
partment. When the writ came up for hearing before the single Judge,
G
the State Government represented to the High Court that it had de-
cided to withdraw the order of suspension and reinstate the respon-
dent No. 1, Reddy. The State Government accordingly withdrew
the order of suspension and directed that the period of suspension may
be treated as on duty. Thereafter Reddy .filed an application before
B the High Court seeking permission to withdraw the petition as· all!o
the allegations made in the petition against the Chief Minister, ~s,.
pondent No. 3 in the High Court. The High Court accepted the
UNION v. M. E. REDDY (Fazal Ali, !.) 741

prayer of Reddy and allowed the petition to be withdrawn and passed A
the following order : -
"It seems that orders reinstating the petitioner and
virtually cancelling the suspension order are being issued.
The learned Advocate for the petitioner therefore desires to
withdraw the writ petition. The writ petition is therefore B
dismissed as withdrawn".
As a result of these developments the departmental proceedings
against Reddy were dropped and he was given Selection Grade which
appears to have been withheld because of the order of suspension
-f.issed against Reddy. On 27-4-1971 Reddy was given the Selection
Grade with retrospective effect from 6-6-1969. Thereafter by an c
order dated 28-4-1971 Reddy was promoted to the Rank of Deputy
Inspector-General of Police by th<i State Government. It appears
that during the course of the departmental enquiry the following entry
appears to have been made in the Annual Confidential Report of
Reddy:- D
"He is under suspension. Allegation against him is that
he concocted a case against Venugopala Reddy (attempt to
rape) to please the Inspector-General of Police K. K.
Nambiar. There is also a strong suspicion about his integ-
rity. The Anti-corruption Branch are enquiring into the
allegations. In this enquiry allegations are proved''. E

Afte.r the proceedings were dropped and Reddy was promoted as
Deputy Inspector-General of Police he made a representatio,n to the
Government that the adverse entry contained in· the Annual Confi-
dential Report may be expunged. The Government of . Andhra
Pradesh after considering the representation of Re<ldy passed the · F
following order dated 20-4-197 4 :
"The Government, after careful consideration, have d.e-
cided that as the statements are factual it would be suffi-
cien~ if a suitable entry is made in the said confidential report
to the effect that the suspension was subsequently lifted and G
the period was treated duty and that further action was stayed
as there were no gocd grounds to hold him guilty of any of
the charges levelled against him.
(3) A suitable entry has accordingly been made in the
confidential report for the y~ar ending 31-3-1968".
H
We have expressly referred to this order of the . Government to
show that it completely demolishes the case of malafide pleaded by
11~25SCI/79
742 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1980] 1 $.C.R.

A Reddy against Mr. K. Brahmanand Reddy, respondent No. 3 in the
High Court because if Mr. K. Brahmanand Reddy had auy animus
against the . officer he would 'not have accepted his representation
and denuded the effect of the adverse entry made at the time when
Reddy was suspended. According to the allegations made by the
State of Andhra Pradesh on the 7th Angust, 1975 a Review Com-
B mittee consisting of the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary and the
Inspector-General of Police considered various cases of police officers
including the case of Reddy ~nd made their recommendations. On
11th September, 1975 the Government of India after considering the (
report of the Review Committee ordered compulsory ·retirement of
c Reddy in public interest on the expiry of three months' notice from the
date of service of order on him. This order was passed by the Central
Government in consultation with the State Government (hereinafter
referred to as the impugned order) as may be extracted thus : -
"In exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-rule 3 of
Rule 16 of the All India Service (Death-cum-Retirement)
D Rules, 1958, the President, in consultation with the Govern-
ment of Andhra Pradesh, is pleased to order the retirement
of Sri M. E. Reddy a member of the Indian Police Service
borne on the cadre of Andhra Pradesh, in the public interest,
on the expiry of three months from the date of service of this
order on him".
E This order purports to have been passed under sub-rule (3) of
Rule 16 of the All India Service (Death-cum-Retirement) Rules, 1958
which reads as follows : -
" 16 ( 3) The Central Govermnent, in consultation with
the State Government, may require a member of the Service
F who has completed 30 years of qualifying service or who has
attained the age of 55 yean; to retire in the public
interest provided that at least three months' previous notice
in writing will be given to the member concerned".
An analysis of this Rule clearly shows that the following es•ential
ingredients of the Rule must be satisfied before an order compulsorily
G retiring a Government servant is passed :
1. That the member of the Service must have completed
30 years of qualifying service or the age of 50 years (as
modified by notification dated 16-7-1969),
2. That the Gove=ent has an absolute right to retire the
B Government servant concerned because the word
"require" clearly confers an unqualified right on the
Central Government;
UNION v. M. E. REDDY (Fazal Ali, J.) 743

3. That the order must be passed in public interest; A
4. That three months' previous notice in writing shall be
given to the Government servant concerned before the
order is passed.

It may be noted here that the provision gives an absolute right to
B
the Government and not merely a discretion, and, therefore, impliedly
it excludes the rnles of natural justice. It is also not disputed in the
present case that all the conditions mentioned in Rule referred to
above have been complied with. It is a different matter that the·
argument of Reddy is based on the ground that the order is arbitrary
and ma/a fide with which we shall deal later. c
On a perusal of the impugned o.rder passed by the Government of
India it wonld appear that the order fully conforms to all the condi-
tions mentioned in Rule 16 (3). It is now well settled by a long
catena of authorities of this Court that compulsory retirement after
the employee has put in a sufficient number of years of service having D
qualified for full pension is neither a punishment nor a stigma so as
to attract the provisions of Art. 311 (2) of the Constitution. In fact,
after an employee has served for 25 to 30 years and is retired on fnlI
pensionary benefits, it cannot be said that he suffers any real pre-
judice. The object of the Rnle is to weed out the dead wood in
order to maintain a high standard of efficiency and initiative in the E
State Services. It is not necessary that a good officer may continue
to be efficient for all times to come. It may be that there may be
some officers who may possess a better initiative and higher standard
of efliciency and if given chance the work of the Government might
show marked improvement. In such a case compulsory retirement
of an officer who fulfils the conditions of Rule 16 (3) is undoabtedly F
in public interest and is not passed by way of punishment. Similarly,
there may be cases of officers who are corrupt or of doubtful integrity
• and who may be considered fit for being compulsorily retired in pub-
lic interest, since they have almost reached the fag end of their
career and their retirement would not cast any aspersion nor does it
G
entail any civil consequences. Of course, it may be said that if
such officers were allowed to continue they would have drall'n their
salary until the usual date of retirement. But this is not an absolute
right which can be claimed by an officer who has put in 30 years of
service or has. attained the age of 50 years. Thus, the general im-
pression which is carried by most of the employees that compulsory H
retirement under these conditions invol.ves some sort of stigma must
he completely removed because rule 16 (3) does nothing of the sort.
744 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1980] 1 s.c.R.

l A Apart from the aforesaid considerations we would like\ to illustr~
the jurisprudential philosophy of rule 16 (3) and other similarly
worded provisions like Rule 56 (j) and other rules relating to the
Government servants. It cannot be doubted that rule 16 ( 3) as it
stands is but one of the facets of the doctrine; of pleasure incorporated
in Article 310 of the Constitution and is controlled only by those;
B contingencies which are expressly mentioned in Article 311. If the
order of retirement under rule 16 ( 3) does not attract Article 311
(2) it is mainfest that no stigma of punishment is irivolved. The
order is passed by the highest authority, namely, the central Govern- ! l
ment in the name of the President and expressly excludes the appli·
cation of rules of natural justic~ as indicated above. The safety, valve 1
of public interest is the most powerful and the strongest safeguard
against any abuse or colourable exercise of power under this Rule.
Moreover, when the Court is satisfied that the exercise of power
under the rule amounts to a colourable exercise of jurisdiction or is
arbitrary or 111illa fide it can always be struck down. While examin-
D ing this aspect of the matter the Court would have to act only on the
affidavits, documents, annexures, notifications and other papers pro-
duced before it by the parties. It cannot delve deep into the confi-
dential or secret recQl:ds .of the Government to fish out materials to
prove that the order is arbitrary or mala fide. The Court has, how-
ever, the undoubted power subject to any privilege or claim that may
B be made by the State, to send for the relevant confidential personal
file of the Government servant and peruse it for its own satisfaction
without using it as evidence.

It seems to us that the main obj~t of this Rule is to instil a
'. F spirit of dedication and dynamism in the working of the State Services
so as to ensure purity and cleanliness in the administration which is
the paramount need of the hour as' the Services are one of the- pillars
of our great democracy. Any element or constituent of the Service
which is found to be lax or corrupt, inefficient or not up to the mark
or has outlived his utility has to be weeded out. Rule 16 (3) pro-
'G vides the methodology for achieving this object. We must, however,
hasten to add that before the Central Government invokes the power
urider Rule 16 ( 3) , it must take particular care that the rule is not
used as a ruse for victimisation by getting rid of honest and unoblig-
ing officers in order to make way for incompetent favourites of the
Government which is bound to lead to serious demoralisation in the
H Service and defeat the laudabl~ object which the rule seeks to sub-
serve. If ariy such ca8e comes to the notice of the Government the
officer responsible for advising the Government must be strictly dealt
UNION v. M. E. REDDY (Fazal Ali, !.) 745

with. Compulsory retirement contemplated by the aforesald rule is A
designed to infuse the administration with iuitiative and activism so that
it is made poignant and piquant, specious and subtle so as to meet
the expanding needs of the nation which require exploration of
"fields and pastures now". Such a retirement involves no stain or
stigma nor does it entail any penalty or civil consequences. In fact,
B
the rule merely seeks to strike a just balance between the termination
of the completed career of a tired employee and maintenance of top
efficiency in the diverse activities of the administration.

An order of compulsory retirement on one hand causes no pre-
judice to the Government servant who is made to lead a restful life c
renjoying full pensionary and other benefits and on the other gives a
new animation and equanimity to the Services. The employees
should try to understand the true spirit behind the rule which is not
to penalise them but amourits just to a fruitful incident of the Service
made in thei larger interest 0£ the country. Even if the employee feels
that he has suffered, he should derive sufficient solace and consola- D
tion from the fact that this is his small contribution to his couutry
for every good cause claims its martyr.

These principles are clearly enunciated by 1l series of decisions
of this C-Ourt starting from Shyam Lal's(') case to Nigam's (') case
which will be referred to hereafter. ,E

In the case of Shyam Lal v. The State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr.C)
This Court clearly held that compulsory retirement does not amount to
removal or termination nor does it involve any stigma. In this con-
nection, a Bench of 5 Hon'ble Judges of this Court observed as
follows:- F
"There is no such element of charge or imputation in
the case of compulsory retirement. The two require-
ments for compulsory retirement are that the officer has
completed twentyfive years' service and that it is in the
public interest to dispense with his further services. It is G
true that this power of compulsory retirement may be used
when the authority exercising this power cannot substan-
tiate the. misconduct which may be the real cause for taking
the act10n but what is important to note is that
the directions in the last sentence in Note 1 to article 465-A
B
{1) [1955] S. C. R. 26.
(2) [1978] 1 S. C. R. 521.
746 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1980) 1 S.C.R.-

A make it abundantly clear that an imputation or charge is not
in terms made a condition for the exercise of the power. In
other words, a compulsory retirement has no stigma or
implication of misbehaviour or incapacity".

"The more important thing is to see whether by com-
B pulsory retirement the officer loses the benefit he has earned
as he does by dismissal or removal. The answer is clearly
in the negative. The second element or determining whe-
ther a termination of se.rvice amounts to dismissal or renfo-
val is, therefore, also absent in the case of termination of
service brought about by compulsory retirement.
·c
The foregoing discussion necessarily leads us to the con-
clusion that a compulsory retirement does not amount to
dismissal or removal and, therefore, does not attract the pro-
visions of Article 311 of the Constitution or of rule 55".

The same principle was reiterated by another Bench of 5 Hon'ble
Judges of this Court in the case of T. G. Shivacharana Singh & Ors.
v. The State of Mysore.(') In this case, the Court was considering
the scope of rule 285 which was almost in the same terms as rule
16 (3) and provided that a Government servant could be retired after
completing qualifying service of 30 years or on attaining the age of
E 50 years if such retirement was considered in public interest. In
this connection, the Court observed as follows:-
"It would thus be clear that though the normal age of
retirement under R. 95 (a) is 55 years, under R. 285 it
is competent to the Government to retire compulsorily a
government servant prematurely if it is thought that such
premature retirement is necessary in the public interest ..
.............. Mr. Venkataranga Iyengar contends that (
this Rule is invalid, because it contravenes Art. 14 as
well as Art. 16 (1) of the Constitotion. In our opinion,
this contention can no longer be entertained; because it is
G concluded by a Jong series of decisions of this Court".

Even the constitotionality of the provisions concerned was up-
held by this Conrt.

The leading case on the subject which has been decided some
ii years before and has been consistently followed by latter decisions

(I) A. I. 4l. 1965 S. C. 280.
UNION v. M. E. REDDY (Fazal.Ali, J.) 747

•
of Ibis Court is the case of Union of India v. Col. J. N. Si.•1ha & · A
Anr.('). This Court was considering the scope and ambit of rule
56 (i) which is also worded in the same terms as rule 16 (3). Rule
56 (j) runs thus:-
"Notwithstanding anything contained in this Rule the
appropri~te authority shall, if it is of the opinion that it is B
in the public interest so to do have the absolute right to
retire any Government servant by giving him notice of not
less than three months in writing or three months' pay and
allowances in lieu of such notice.
(i) if he is in Class I or Class II Service or post the c
age for the purpose of direct recruitment to which
is below 35 years, after he has attained the age of
50 years.
(ii) In any other case after he has attained the age of
55 years.
D
Provided that nothing in Ibis clause shall apply to a Government
seniint referred to in clause ( e) who entered Government service
on or before 23rd July 1966 and to a Government servant .referred
to in clause (f)".

Aftdr considering the various shades, aspects, purpose and object E
of such provision this Court observed as follows:-
"But if on the other hand a statutory provision either
specifically or by necessary implication excludes the appli-
cation of any or all the principles of natural justice then the
court cannot ignore the mandate of the legislature or the F
statutory authority and read into the concerned provision
the principles -of natural justice".
"The right conferred on the appropriate authority is an
absolute one. That power can be exercised subject to the
conditions mentioned in the rule, one of which is that the G
concerned authority must be of the opinion that it is in
public inte.rest to do so. If that authority bona fide forms
that opinion, the correctness of that opinion cannot be
challenged before courts. It is open to an aggrieved party
to contend that the requisite opinion has not beeu [orn;fd
or the decision is based on collateral grounds or that it is H

(I) [1971] 1 S. C. R. 791.
748 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1980] 1 s.c.R.

A an arbitrary decision .......... : •..................•.
Compulsory retirement involves no civil consequences.
The aforementioned rule 56 (j) is not intended for takmg
any penal action against the government servant. That
rule ·merely embodies one of the facets of the pleasure
doctrine embodied in Article 310 Of the Constitution.
. B Various considerations may weigh with the appropriate
authority while. exercising the power conferred under the
rule. In some cases, the government may feel that a parti-
cular post may be more usefully held in public iuterest
by an officer more competent than the one who is holding.
It may be that the officer who is holcling the post is not
c inefficient but the appropriate authority may prefer to have
a more efficient officer. It may further be that m certain
key posts public interest may require that a person of
undoubted ability and integrity should be there. There
is no denying the fact that in all organisations and more
D so in government organisations, there is good deal of dead
wood. It is in public interest to chop off the same. Funda-
mental Rule 56 (j) holds the balance between the rights
of the individual government servant and the interests of the
public. While a minimum service is guaranteed to the
government servant, the government is given power to
E energise its machinery and make it more efficient by com-
pulsorily retiring those who in its opinion should not be
there in public interest".
The observations made above clearly reveal the object of this
rule and lay down that where an officer concerned is of doubtful
integrity he can be compulsorily retired under this rule.
F Mr. Krishnamurthy Iyer appearing for Reddy submitted that the
order impugned is passed on materials which are non-existent in-
asmuch as there are no adverse remarks against R~ddy .who had a
spotless career throughout and if such remarks would have been made
in his confidential reports they should .have .been communicated to
G him under the rules. This argument, in our opinion,· appears to be
based on a serious misconception. In the first place,. under the various
rules on the subject it is not every adverse entry or remark that has to
be communicated to the officer concerned. The superior officer may
make c;ertain remarks while assessing the work and conduct of the
subordinate officer based on his personal supervision or contact. Some
n of these remarks may be purely innocuous, or may be connected with
general reputation of honesty or integrity that a particular officer enjoys.
It will indeed be difficult if not impossible to prove by positive evidence
UNION v. M. E. REDDY (Fazal Ali, J.) 749

that a particular officer is dishonest but those who has had the opportu- A
nity to watch the performance of the said officer from close quarters are
in a position to know the nature and character not o_t;ly of his per-
formance but also of the reputation that he enjoys. The High Court
has also laid great stress on the fact that as adverse entries had not
been co=unicated to Reddy, therefore, the order impugned is
illegal. We find ourselves unable to agree with the view taken by B
the High Court or the argument put forward by learned counsel for
Reddy. Moreover, the appellant had denied in their counter-affida:vit
;!t pilge 59 Vol. II that there was no adverse entry against the officer
concerned prior to 1968. This averment is contained in para 6 of
the counter affidavit filed by Under Secretary to the Government of
India in the High Court. This aspect as considered by this Court
c
in the case of R. L. Butail v. Union of India & Ors.(') and the
matter is concluded by the very apt observations, made by Hidaya-
tullah, C.J. who spoke for the Court and observed as follows : -
"These rules abundantly sh()w that a confidential report
is intended to be a ge11eral assessment of work performed D
by a Government servant subordinate to the reporting
authority, that such reports are maintained for the purpose
of serving as data of comparative merit when questions of
promotion, confirmation etc. arise. They also show that
such reports are not ordinarily to contain specific incidents
upon which assessments are made except in cases where as E
a result of any specific incident a censure or a warning
is issued 1and when such warning is by an order to be kept
in the personal file of the Government servant. In such
a case the officer making the order has to give a rea>onable
opportunity to the Government servant to pr~sent his case.
The contention, therefore, that the adverse remarks did not F
contain specific instances and were, therefore, contrary to
the rules, cannot be sustained. Equally unsustainable is
the 'corolli;ry that because of that omission the appellant
could not make an adeqnate representation and that there-
fore the confidential reports are vitiated".
G
"It may well be that in spite of the work of the appellant
being satisfactory, as he claimed it was, there may have
been other relevant factors, such as the hi~tory of the
appellant's entire service and confidential reports through-
l out the period of his service, upon which the appropriate
authority may still decide to order appellant's retirement H
under F.R. 56 (j)".
(I) [1971] 2 S. C. R. 55.
750 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (1980] 1 S.C.R.

A In this case the Court followed and endorsed the decision of this
Court in the case of J. N. Sinha (supra). Here we might mention
that the appellants were fair and candid enough to place the entire
confidential personal file of Reddy before us starting from the date
he joined the Police Servic;e and after perusing the same we are
unable to agree with Mr. Krishnamurthy Iyer that the officer had a
B spotless career. The assessment made by his superior officers from
the very beginning of his service until the impugned order was passed
show that at best Reddy was merely an average officer and that the
reports show that he was found to be sometimes tactless, impolite,
impersonated and suffered from other infirmities though not all of them
were of a very serious natnre so as to amount to an adverse entry
c which may be communicated to him. We might also mention that
before passing an order under rule 16 (3) it is not an entry here or
an entry there which has to be taken into consideration by the
Government but tl)e overall picture of the officer during the Jong
years of his service that he pnts in has to be considered from the
D point of view of achieving higher standard of efficiency and dedica-
tion so as to be retained even after the officer has put in the requisite
number of years of service. Even in the. last entry which was
sought to be expanded through a representation made by Reddy and
other entries made before it appears that the integrity of Reddy was
not above board.
E Even in the case of State of Ut/ar Pradesh v. Chandra Mohan
Nigam & Ors.(') on which great reliance has been placed by Mr.
Krishnamurthy Iyer, it was observed thus : -
"We should hasten to add that when integrity of an
officer is in question that will be an exceptional circums-
F tance for which. orders may be passed in respect of such a
person under rule 16(3), at any time, if other conditions
of that rule are fuJfilled, apart ffom the choice of disciplin-
. ary action which will also be open to Government".
Thus, even according to the decision rendered by this Court in
the aforesaid case the fact that an officer is of doubtful integrity
G
stands on a separate footing and if he is compulsorily retired that
neither involves any stigma nor any error in the order, We might
also refer to an observation made by the Single Judge of the High
Court whose judgment was confirmed by the Division Bench, who
appears to have misconstrued a judgment of this Court and by the
process of such miscoaception seems to have ignored the later deci-
H
sions of this Court given by small Benches on the exact question at
(1) [1978] 1 S. C. R. 521.
UNION v. M. E. REDDY (Fazal Aii, !.) 751

issue. The learned Judge relied on the decision in the case of Ac,
Madan Mohan Prasad v. State of Bihar & Ors.(') in support of the
view that the order of retirement even if it is in public interest violates
Article 311 (2) of the Constitution even though no punishment was
intended, The learned Judge observed as follows:-
"In Madan Mohan v. State of Bihar (supra) the Supreme B.
Court considered the validity of retirement order of a Judi-
cial Officer who for the reason that he worked for seventeen
years asserted was permanent member of the service when
!tis retirement was ordered under Bihar pension Rules of
1950 questioned the order under Art. 32 of the Constitution
of India that it was a punishment within the meaning of C
Art. 311 ( 2) of the Constitution of India".
and then relies on certain observations of this Court in order to hold
that the termination of service of the officer casts a stigma on his
character and attracts Article 311 (2) bf the Constitution. The learned
Judge further relied on a decision of this Court in support of the pro- D·
position that a judgment rendered by 5 Judges of the Supreme Court
would prevail over a judgment of a smaller Bench. So far this part
of the oLservation is concerned, there can be no doubt. But the
learned Judge appears to have completely misconstrued the decision
in Madan Mohan's case (supra) wltich was not a case of compul~ory
retirement at all, nor was it a case where the officer concerned was R
retired under a rule like rule 56(j) or 16(3) as we have indicated
in this case. On the other hand, in that case what happened was
that the officer was appointed as a temporary Munsif and under the
terms of the notification by which he was appointed it was provided
that the appointment of temporary Munsif could be terminated by

, giving one month's notice. The High Court it appears, was r,ot satis-
fied with the work of Munsif and accordingly decided to terminate his
services. But the Cltief Minister in one of his speeches on the floor
of the House had made certain observations implying that the ~ervices
of the Munsif were being terminated on account of inefficiency and
misconduct. In these peculiar circumstances, therefore, this Court
held that the termination of the Munsif even though he was a tempo- G
rary servant cast a stigma and, therefore, attracted Article 311 of the
Constitution. In this connection, the Court observed as follows : -
"It seems to us that on the facts of this case, the order
dated January 15, 1972 violates Article 311 (Z) of the
Constitution. The petitioner had first been holding a tern- H
porary post and then a permanent post for nearly seventeen
(I) [1973] 4 S. C. C. !66=(1973) IS. L. R. 630.
752 SUPRP.ME COURT REPORTS [1980] 1 S.C.R.

A years. The Chief Minister's statement in the Assembly that
his services were not satisfactory and the Government was
considering serving show-cause notice and the fact that his
services were terminated without any enquiry being held
would inevitably lead the public to believe that his services
had been terminated on account of inefficiency or miscon-
B duct. This did cast a stigma on his character".
It is, therefore, manifest that the facts of this case and the points
involved were absolutely different from the facts of the present case.
The aforesaid case relied upon by the High Court would have abso::-
lutely no application to the present case where Reddy was neither a
c temporary servant nor was his service terminated. The Single Judge
of the High Court was, therefore, absolutely wrong in equating the
principles of compulsory retirement under rule l 6 ( 3) with termination
of the services of a temporary employee under the rules.
Similarly, the case of J. N. Sinha (supra) was followed and relied
D on by later decisions of this Court in the case of N. V. Puttabhatta v.
The State Mysore & Anr. (') as also in the case of State of Assam
and Anr. etc. v. Basanta Kumar Das etc. etc.(')

Again, in the case of Tara Singh etc. etc. v. State of Rajasthan &
Ors.(') it was pointed out that compulsory retirement under the pro-
E visions similar to rule 16(3) cannot amount to a stigma, and the
incidents of compulsory retirement were adroitly summed up by
Ray, C.J. who observed as follows : -
"The right to be in public employment is a right to hold
it according to rules. The right to hold is defeasible accord-
.. F ing to rules. The rules speak _of compulsory retirement.
There is guidance in the rules as to when such compulsory
retirement is made. When persons complete 25 years of
service and the efficiency of such persons is impaired and
yet it is desirable not to bring any charge of inefficiency or
incompetency, the Government passes orders of such com-
G pulsory retirement. The Government servant in such a case
does not lose the benefits which a Government servant has
already earned. These orders of compulsory retirement
are made in public interest. This is the safety valve of
making such orders so that no arbitrariness or bad faith
creeps in'~.
H (I) [1973] l S. C. R. 304.
(2) [1973] 3. S. C. R. 158, 167.
(3) (19751 3 S. C. R. 1002.
UNION v. M. E. REDDY (Fazal Ali, J.) 753

"There is no stigma in any of the. impeached orders of A
compulsory retirement".
The learned Chief Justice pointed out that having regard to the safe-
guards coutained in the rules particularly the fact that the retirement
was in public interest the safety valve of safeguarding malafide or
arbitrariness in the order was clearly contained in the provision itself. B
!. N. Sinha's case (supra) was endorsed and followed in this case
also.
In a recent decision of this Court in the case of Mayenghocirt
'Rahamohan Singh v. The Chief Commission~r (Admn.) Manipur &
Ors.(') the Court observed as follows : -
c
"Compulsory retirement is not a punishment. There is
no stigma in compulsory retirement".
"The affidavit evidence is that the order of compulsory
retirement was made in public interest. The absence of
recital in the order of compulsory retirement that i! is made
in public interest is not fatal as long as power to make com-
pulsory retirement in public interest is there and the power
in fact is shown in the facts and circumstances of the case
to have been exercised in public interest".
In this case, the Court was considering the scope of rule 56(j) which,
as already indicated, is couched in the same terms as rule 16(3). E

Learned counsel for Reddy heavily relied on the decision of this
Court in the case of State of Uttar Pradesh v. Chandra Mohan Nigam
& Ors. (supra) and contended that as the Government of India
while passing the impugued order had not considered the report of

, the Review Committee the ordar is vitiated by an error of Jaw. We
have gone through this decision and we are unable to agree with the
contentions put forward by learned counsel for Reddy. The decision
referred to above is not an authority for holding that the decision of
the Review Committee is binding on the Govermnent of India. All
that is necessary is that the Govermnent of India should, before pass-
ing an order under rule 16 (3) consider the report of the Review G
Committee which is based on full and completed analysis of the
history of the service of the employee concerned. In the instant case,
it is clearly pleaded by the appellants in the High Court that the report
of the Review Committee was in fact consjdered by the Govermnent of
India before passing the irnpugued order. The confidential file placed
before us also clearly shows that on the note sheet the notes by the D
(!) [1977] I S. C.R. 1022.
754 SlJ!'REME COURT REPORTS [1980] 1 s.c.R.

A Secretary on the recommendations of the Review Committee the Home
Minister, Mr. K. Brahmananda Reddy has appended his signatures
and has passed the order that Reddy should be compulsorily retired.
Furthermore, in Nigam's case (supra) referred to above what had
weighed with the Court was that after the Review Committee had
submitted its report to the Government, the Government ordered a
B second Review Committee just in order to enable :he Review Com-
mittee to give an adverse report against the officer concerned. Such
a course of action was condemned and deprecated by this Court. In
the instant case, however, there is no allegation by Reddy that any
second Committee. was ever appointed. Even so in Nigam's case
(supra) this Court did not depart from the ratio laid down in Sinha's
c case (supra) and followed by later cases but observed as follows:-

"As _stated earlier, even in the case of compulsory retire-
ment under rule 16(3), an ·order may be challenged in a
court if it is arbitrary or mala fide. If, however, the Gov-
ernment reaches a decision to prematurely retire a Govern-
D
ment servant, bona fiPe the order, per se, cast any stigma
on the employee nor does the employee forfeit any benefit
which he has already earned by his service, nor does it
result in any civil consequences".

The Court at page 531 of-the Report clearly pointed out that the
E
instructions issued by the Government for constituting the Review
Committee were not mandatory. We have already indicated above
that this Court made it absolutely clear that where a person was retired
under Rule 16(3) on the ground that his integrity was in question, the
observations made by this Court wonld have no application. In the
instant case, it has been clearly averred by the appellants that the
integrity of Reddy was not beyond suspicion and the remarks were
not expressly expunged by the Chief· Minister.

Reliance was also placed by learned counsel for Reddy on a recent
decision of this Court in the case of Smt. S. R. Venkataraman v.
G Union of India & Anr. (') The facts of this case, however, are
clearly distinguishable from the facts of the present case. In that
case there was a finding of fact by this Court that the order of retire-
ment was mala fide and amounted to victimisation and the allegation
made by the appellant before this Court were not only not disputed
but counsel for the Union of India went to the extent of saying that
H be was not in a position to support the impugned order which was

(!) [1979] 2 s. c. R. 202.
UNION v. M. E. REDDY (Fazal Ali, !.) 755

unfair. It was in the background of these circumstances that the A
Court held that the order was malafide and observed as follows : -
"The ap~llant has pointed out in this connection that
her service record was examined in March, 1976 by the
Departmental Promotion Committee, with which the Union
Public Service Commission was associated, and the Com- B
mittee considered her fit for promotion to the selectio.n grade
subject to clearance in the departmental proceedings v·bich
were pending against her, and that she was retired because of
bias and animosity. Our attention has also been invited to
the favourable entry which was made in her confidential
report by the Secretary of the Ministry. C
Mr. Lekhi, learned counsel for the Union of India, pro-
duced the relevant record of the appellant for our perusal.
• While doing so he frankly conceded that there was nothing
on the record which could justify the order of the appellant's
pre,mature retirement. He went to the extent of saying that
the Government was not in a position to support that unfair
D
order".
"The influence of extraneous matters will be undoubted
where the authority making the order has admitted their in-
fluence. It will therefore be a gross abuse of legal power
to punish a person or destroy her service career in a manner E
not warranted by law by putting a rule which makes a useful
provision for the premature retirement of government ser-
vants only in the 'public interest', to a purpose wholly un-
warranted by it, and to arrive at quite a contradictory
result. An administrative order which is based on reasons
of fact which do not exist must therefore pe held to be in- F
fected with an abuse of power".
These observations, however, do not apply to the facts of the present
case.
Lastly, Mr. Krishnamurthy lysr, learned counsel for Reddy heavily
G
relied on a decision of the Calcutta High Court in the case of Chief
Security Officer, Eastern Railway &: Anr. v. Ajoy Chandra Bagchi(')
On a perusal of this decision we are of the opinion that this case was
not correctly decided as it is directly opposed to the ratio dccidendi of
l. N. Sinha's case (supra) where this Court held that the rule in
question expressly excludes the principles of natural justice and, there-
H
. fore, it is manifest that the Calcutta High Court was in error in basing
(l) (1975) 2 S. L. R. 660.
756 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1980] l s.c.R.

IA its decision on rules of natural justice. The Calcutta High Court in this
case had observed as follows : -
"Thus even if the Railway authorities had absolute right
to retire the Respondent petitioner subject to the require-
ments as mentioned hereinbefore and in terms of paragraph
B 3 of Chapter XVII of the Regulations read with item 6 of
the instructions in the Form in Appendix XVIII in the
,
admitted position of the case, viz., certain adverse entries I

c
were taken into consideration in having him compulsorily
retired, the action as taken is thus certainly against all princi-
ples of natural justice and norms of fair play and as such the
action so taken cannot be supported: The said right under
i
paragraph 3 of Chapter XVII read with item 6 of the
instructions in the Form in Appendix XVIII can be used and
those principles can be applied or resorted to subject to the
principles of natural justice, which incidentally is the restraint
put on the pretended misuse of power".
D
The High Court seemed to rely on certain adverse entries which were
taken into consideration when the order of retirement was passed. We
have already pointed out relying on the dictum of this Court laid down
by Hidayatullah, C.J. that the confidential reports can certainly be
considered by the appointing authority in passing the order of retire-
E ment even if they are not communicated to the officer concerned. ·
Thus, the two grounds on which the Calcutta decision was based are
not supportable in law. For these reasons, therefore, we hold that the
decision of the Calcutta High Court referred to above was wrongly
I
decided and is hereby overruled.
F On a consideration of the authorities mentioned above we are
satisfied that there is no legal error in the impugned order passed by
the Government of India retiring Reddy. It was, however, contended
by connsel for Reddy that reading the order as a whole it contains an
odour of victimisation, so as to make the order arbitrary. We are,
G however, unable to find any material on the record to show that the
or!ler was in any way arbitrary. The Government of India acied on the
orders passed by the Home Minister concerned who had considered •'
'
the report of the Review Committee in its various aspects. There is
nothing to show that Reddy was victimised in any way. On the other
hand, the history of his service shows that he was always given his
H due. He was taken in the I.P.S. and allotted the year 1952. He was
promoted to the selection grade also at the proper time. The order of
snspension was withdrawn and the departmental enquiry was dropped
UNION v. M. E. REDDY (Fazal Ali, J.) 757

and the officer was reinstated and later promoted as D.I.G. These facts A
completely militate against the concept of victimisation. It appears that
on an overall consideration of the entire history of the ser;ice of
Reddy and the various stages through which he had passed it was
considered· in the interest of administration. and to ensure better
initiative and efficiency to retire him in public interest. We are also
unabie to find any element of arbitrariness in the impugned order. B

~·
For these reasons, therefore, the first contention raised by learned
counsel for Reddy must be rejected.
It was then contended that the order was mala fide and passed
• because Respondent No. 3, the C.hicf Minister of Andhra Pradesh
bore selious animus against Reddy and wanted him to do certain· c
things which he refused to do, hence he was compulsorily retired.
Apqrt from the fact that all the allegations regarding mala fide &tood
withdrawn as indicated in the earlier part of the judgment it is alleged
in the counter affidavit and this averment has not been disputed before
us that on 5-1-1970 the following Memo was filed on behalf of Reddy
before the High Court : D
"The petitioner withdraws the writ petition including the
allegations against the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Andhra
Pradesh. The writ petition may kindly be dismissed as with-
drawn".
Furthermore, the counter affidavit at p. 73 Vol. IV contains a letter . E
submitted by the Second Government Pleader on 5-12-1970 the rele-
vant part of which runs thus : -
"I have discussed. the matter with the Advocate for the
petitioner. He agrees to withdraw the writ petition as also
the allegations made thereunder against the Hou'ble Chief
Minister and is prepared to file· a Memo. Copy of which is F
enclosed_ herewith".
Once Reddy had withdrawn the allegations of malafidc against respon-
dent No. 3 in the High Court, it is not open to him to revive those
allegations in these proceeding when the impugned order is passed.
.,, .G
• 1he impugned order as held by us .is a bona fide order and does not
suffer from any legal infirmity, and, therefore, we cannot permit Reddy
to play a game of hid_('. and seek with the Court by withdrawing the
allega:ions oI ma/a fide against respondent No. 3 in the High Court
and then reviving t!1em when after some time an adverse order against
him was pa~sed. Moreover, if respondent No. 3 was really inimically B
disposed towards Reddy he would not have either dropped the depart-
mental enquiry or reinstated him, or have promoted him to the· rank
12-625 SCI/79
758 SUPREME COl!RT REPORTS [1980] 1 s.c.R..
I
of D.I.G. Furthermore, the Chief :Minister Mr. K. Brahmananda
Reddy has himself filed a personal affidavit before tl1e High Court which
is contained at page 235 Vol. III wherein he has categorically denied
all the allegations made against him by Reddy. The assertions made
in the affidavit are fully supported by circumstantial evidence and the
conduct of Reddy himself. For these reasons, therefore, the second
B contentiGn regarding the impugned order· being ma/a fide is also
rejected.
The result is that all the contentions raised by counsel for Reddy
fail. We are clearly of the opinion that the High Court committed a
clear error of,law in quashing the impugned order which was fully
c justified by rule 16(3), and did not suffer from any legal' infirmity
and waif also in consonance with the law laid down by this Court _,
starting from Shyamlal's case upt-0 Sinha's and Nigam's case (S'Upra)
discussed above..
We, therefore, allow the appeals, set aside the order of the High
D Court and restore the impugned order retiring Reddy. In the peculiar
circumstances of the cas6 there will b6. no order as to costs.

S.R. Appeals allowed.