Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 1: High Court has quashed the compulsory retirement of Hamid Wani, Chief Town Planner of Jammu Development Authority and held that mere registration of FIR cannot form the basis for such a decision.
“The committee has given a complete go by to the Regulation 226(2) of the J&K CSR read with the instructions buttressed to it in considering the compulsory retirement of the petitioner”, Justice M K Hanjura said, adding “the Regulation and instructions lay great emphasis and spell out the need and demand to consider the entire service record of the public servant available in the shape of APRs, service book, personal file giving the details of the complaints received against him from time to time and so on and so forth”.
“While considering the desirability of the retention or otherwise of a public servant, whose conduct has come under a smoke of cloud, the criminal case registered against him can be considered on the parapet and the bulwark of the chain of the documents/ service particulars. But to say that an FIR can form the sole basis to retire a public servant compulsorily is neither in tune nor in line with the scheme and mandate of Article 226(2) of the J&K CSR read with the guidelines”, Justice Hanjura said.
“The reputation of a public servant cannot be termed as doubtful and his conduct cannot be determined only on spoken words in the absence of any material on record. This is a fundamental flaw in the order issued against the petitioner, whereby he has been shown the door”, High Court pointed out.
While quashing the compulsory retirement order, High Court directed the respondents to reinstate the petitioner and grant him all consequential benefits within a period of one month.
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