SWARAN SINGH CHAND versus PUNJAB STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD & ORS.

Citation: [2009] 7 S.C.R. 1084 · Decided: 06-05-2009 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: S.B. SINHA · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Cited by 1 judgment(s) · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

[2009] 7 S.C.R. 1084 
A 
SWARAN SINGH CHAND 
i 
-
V. 
PUNJAB STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD & ORS. 
Civil Appeal No. 3298 of 2009 
B. 
MAY 6, 2009 
[S. B. SINHA AND DR. MUKUNDAKAM SHARMA, JJ] 
Service Law -
Compulsory retirement -
Order of 
compulsory retirement when stigmatic in nature - Held: Is bad 
• 
..; 
in law -
On facts, order of compulsory retirement passed 
... 
c against employee -A/legation that he lacked integrity was also 
unfit to be retained in service, are stigmatic in nature - Also, it 
is not a case where there had been steady decline in the 
~
performance of employee - There was non-compliance of 
necessary directions in the circular laying down guidelines for 
D compulsory retirement, thus amounted to malice in law- Thus, 
order of compulsory retirement being illegal, is not sustainable 
" 
and is set aside - Circular letter dated 14.08.1981. 
The question which arose for consideration in this 
E appeal is as to whether an order of compulsory retirement 
being a stigmatic one would be valid in law. 
Allowing the appeal, the Court 
HELD :1.1 An order of compulsory retirement inter 
>' 
alia can be passed when the officer concerned is found 
F to be a dead wood. Although for the said purpose, the 
principles of natural justice are not required to be 
complied with and even adverse entries made in the 
confidential record including uncommunicated entries 
may be taken into consideration but the same should not 
G be passed in place of or in lieu of a disciplinary procee-
dings. If an order of compulsory retirement is stigmatic in 
.... 
nature, the same would be bad in law. Furthermore when 
the State lays down the rule for taking any action against 
H 
1084 
SWARAN SINGH CHAND V. PUt-JJAB STATE 
1085 
ELECTRICITY BOARD & ORS. 
an employee which would cause civil or evil consequence, A 
it is imperative on its part to scrupulously follow the same. 
[Paras 8, 9 and 1 OJ [1092-A-D] 
M.P State Co-op. Dairy Fedn. Ltd. & Anr. v. Rajnesh 
Kumar Jamindar & Ors. 2009(6) SCALE 16; H. V Nirmala v. 
B 
Karnataka State Financial Corporation (2008) 7 SCC 639 -
relied on. 
Vitarelli v. Seaton 359 US 535 - referred to. 
" ... 
1.2 The guidelines issued by the State are binding 
-; 
on it. Appellant had been compulsorily retired with effect c 
from 29.9.2003. Salary for three months from the said date 
was paid, i.e. upto December, 2003. His actual date of 
retirement was 31.10.2004. The impugned order, therefore, 
was passed although not strictly within a period of one 
year preceding the date of superannuation but near about D 
.. 
the same. Thus, spirit of clause (ii) of the guidelines issued 
" 
by order dated 14.08.1981 should have also been taken 
into consideration. So far as clause (iii) of the said 
guidelines is concerned, there is a change of post as he 
had been promoted to a higher post in 2001. As he had 
E 
been promoted despite recording of the adverse remarks, 
the said fact also should have been taken into consi-
deration. If adverse report on integrity relates to a distant 
A 
past or more than ten years old, yet again it should not 
have been considered. [Para 11) [1092-G-H; 1093-A-B] 
F 
Baikuntha Nath Das and Anr. v. Chief District Medical 
Officer, Baripada and Anr. (1992) 2 SCC 299 - referred to. 
1.3 An order of compulsory retirement would be held 
to be stigmatic inter alia, in the event the employer has G 
lost confidence or has concealed his earlier record. He 
.... 
'I 
can, however, be subjected to compulsory retirement inter 
alia if he has outlived his utility.[Para 13) [1093-F-G) 
Chandu Lal v. Management of Mis. Pan American World 
Airways Inc. (1985) 2 SCC 727; Jagdish Parsad v Sachiv, Zila 
H 
1086 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
I 
[2009] 7 S.C.R. 
A Ganna Committee, Muzaffarnagar and Another (1986) 2 SCC 
338; State of Uttar Pradesh v. Madan Mohan Nagar AIR 1967 
r 
SC 1260 - relied on. 
Baikuntha Nath Das and Another v. Chief District Medical 
Officer, Bari pad a and Another ( 1992) 2 SCC 299; Allahabad 
B Bank Officers' Association and Anr. v. Allahabad Bank and Ors. 
(1996) 4 SCC 504; State of Gujarat v. Umedbhai M. Patel 
(2001) 3 SCC 314; Jaswantsingh Pratapsingh Jadeja v. Rajkot 
Municipal Corporation and Anr.(2007) 10 SCC 71 - referred 
to. 
c 
1.4 Allegation against the delinquent was not only 
that he lacked integrity but also unfit to be retained in 
~ • .,rvice. Those comments are stigmatic in nature. It is also 
not a case where there had been a steady decline in the 
0 perfonnanc

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