LexUNION OF INDIA & ORS. versus R. NARASIMHAN
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this caseJudgment (excerpt)
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UNION OF INDIA & ORS.
v.
A '•
R. NARASIMHAN
AUGUST 1, 1988
[E.S. VENKATARAMIAH AND M.M. DUTT, JJ.)
B
Civil Services: Indian Railway Establishment Code, Rule 2046(h)
and (k)/Railway Pension Manual, 1950 Para 62{}-.Railway Servant-
Compulsory retirement of under para 62{}-.Validity of.
Constitutio.n of India, Articles 73 & 309: Rule made in exercise of C
executive power under Art. 73-Not inconsistent with statutory provi-
swn .or rule framed under proviso to Art. 309-Held-Shou/d. be
treated as supplementary to.
Sub-para (ii) of para 620 of the Railway Pension Manual
l!mpowers the competent authority to remove a railway servant from
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service auy time after he has completed 30 years of qualifyiug service.
Clause (h) of Rule 2046 (F .R. 56) of the ludian Railway Establishment
Code empowers the appointing authority to retire in Public interest (i)
Class I and Class II railway servant, who had entered Govemment
Service before the age of 35·years, after be bas attained the age of fiftY
years, and (ii) in any other case after he has attained the age of 55 years'.
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Clause (k) of the said rule confers absolute right on the appointing
authority to retire a railway servant in Class Ill service, who.is .. not
governed by the Pension Rules, after he has completed thirty. y~ar8'~r
service.
The respondent, Class Ill servant, who had joined service in 1950
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was comp!'lsorily retired from service by the competent authority in the
Railway Administration in exercise of powers under para 620 of the
Manual on 14th May, 1982. He was born on 23.9.1929 and was"to
continue in service till he completed 58 years of service. The. writ ·peti:
lion filed by him questioning the validity of the said order and also of
para 620 of the Manual was dismissed by the Single Judge.
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In appeal before the Division Bench it was contended for him that
(i) Rule 2406 of the Rules having been framed under the proviso t!I
Article 309 of the Constituiion and being a compendious code with
regard to compulsory retirement that provision alone could be invoked
and not para 620 of the Manual which is !n the nature of an executive
H
741
742
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
~
[1988] Supp. 1 S.C.R.
A order, (ii) since rule 2046(h) opens with a non-obstante clause and para
620 of the Manual does not state that the said rule shall prevail notwith-
sanding any other provision to the contrary, rule 2046(h) of the Rules
cannot be made subject to para 620 of the Manual, and (iii) there being
two separate provisions with regard to eompulsory retirement, namely
clause (h) of rule 2046 of the Rules and para 620 of the Manual, in the
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absence of any guidance as to when and which rule could be invoked in
a given case, both the provisions would be inapplicable and he could not
be compulsorily retired. The High Court held that para 620 of the r
Railway Pension Manual was void and ineffective. It took the view that
since rule 2046(h) of the Rules was not applicable, as the respondent
had not attained the age of 55 years on the date he was compulsorily
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retired, he could not have been compulsorily retired.
Allowing the appeal by special leave and remanding the case to
the High Court,
HELD: I.I Para 620ofthe Railway Pension Manual is valid. The
D High Court was not right in taking the view it did. [749A)
1.2 There is no inconsistency between rule 2046 of the Rules and
para 620 of the Railway Pension Manual. Clause (h) of rule 2046 of the
Rules empowers the competent authority to retire compulsorily a rail-
way servant on his attaining the age specified therein. That clause has
E no reference to the length of service put in by a railway servant con-
cerned. Clause (k) of the said rule under which the appointing authority
can retire a person in the public interest after a railway servant has
completed 30 years of service applies to a railway servant holding a
Class III post and who is not governed by pension rules. Para 620 of the
Manual applies to all railway servants governed by the pension rules.
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Railway servants holding Class I or Class II posts who caunot be retired
under clause (k) of rule 2046 of the Rules can be retired on their comp-
leting 30. years of qualifying service if they are governed by the pension
rules. Similarly, railway servants holding Class III posts and who are
governed by the pension rules to whom clause (k) of rule 2046 of the
Rules is not applicable can also be retired on their completiExcerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.