Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 25: High Court today quashed the premature retirement of KAS officer Mohammad Ashraf Wani, Joint Director I&FC Development Kashmir and Aijaz Ahmad Kirmani, Incharge AEE, J&K Police Housing Corporation with the direction to the respondents to reinstate them and grant all consequential benefits.
As far as KAS officer Mohammad Ashraf Wani is concerned, Justice M K Hanjura observed, “an important facet which cannot be lost sight of is that the committee constituted by the Government has given a complete go by to the Regulation 226(2) of the CSR read with the instructions buttressed to it in considering petitioner’s compulsory retirement”.
“The Regulation lays great emphasis and spells 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 cases registered against him can be considered on the parapet and the bulwark of the chain of the documents/ service particulars”, High Court said.
“But to say that the FIR(s) 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 CSR read with the guidelines and the judicial pronouncements holding the ground”, Justice Hanjura said, adding “assessment of service record of the years preceding the decision cannot be skipped and shelved in formulating such an opinion by taking umbrage under the plea that the same were not available”.
Stating that impugned order bearing No. 1263-GAD of 2016 dated 21st of November, 2016, cannot stand the test of law and reason, Justice Hanjura quashed the order with the direction to the respondents to reinstate the petitioner and grant him all consequential benefits within a period of one month from the date the certified copy of this order is served on them by the petitioner.
As far as Incharge AEE Aijaz Ahmad Kirmani is concerned, Justice Hanjura observed, “this order too cannot stand the test of law. It is not based on any material from which a reasonable opinion could be derived to put forth the plea that the petitioner has outlived his utility as a Government servant or that his conduct was such that his continuance in service would be prejudicial to the public interest”.
While directing his reinstatement with all consequential benefits, High Court also asked the respondents not to evict the petitioner from the Flat No.4, Government Flats, Jawahar Nagar, Srinagar.
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