Madras HC upholds CISF order of early retirement of head constable

Chennai: The Madras high court has upheld an order of the Director General of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), confirming the order of the Senior Commandant, CISF Unit, Visakhapatnam, prematurely retiring a 55-year-old head constable from service.

Justice T. Raja dismissed the petition filed by S. Balakrishnan, challenging the order of the DG of CISF dated July 27, 2015.

Petitioner’s counsel M.Md.Ibrahim Ali submitted that the petitioner after joining the CISF in the year 1984 as constable was given promotion to the rank of head constable in the year 2004. As the petitioner has not suffered any punishment for his doubtful integrity or creating nuisance or theft or quarreling, the order passed by the senior commandant prematurely retiring the petitioner, which has been confirmed by the DG of the force were wholly unjustified and untenable, he added.

Senior Central government standing counsel J. Madana Gopal Rao submitted that the petitioner was awarded with three punishments during the period 2004 to 2013. Of these three punishments, on two occasions he was awarded the penalty for overstaying on leave unauthorisedly and on one another occasion, he was found sleeping while on duty. Since the petitioner being a member of the force was expected to discharge his duties with highest order of discipline, integrity, energy and efficiency to perform the tasks assigned to him, he utterly failed to follow. In spite of giving number of chances to improve his lapses, he failed to mend his ways and has become incorrigible, Madana Gopal Rao added.

The judge said a perusal of the criteria to be followed by the committee in making their recommendation for retention in service, shows that when the appropriate committee causes review of the cases of CISF personnel for continuance beyond the age of 55 years or on completion of 30 years of service, the entire service record of the officer should be considered at the time of review. Since the petitioner, admittedly, has suffered two Below Average grading and nine Average grading during his service tenure and also failed to maintain good service record after his promotion to the rank of head constable (GD), the senior commandant, CISF Unit, Visakhapatnam, who was the competent authority to review the case of the petitioner for his retention, has rightly passed the order. On appeal, the Director General of the Force also, analysing the annual confidential reports of the petitioner, as per Rule 48 of the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules and FR 56 (j), has prematurely retired the petitioner from service. Hence, this court finds no infirmity or illegality in the impugned orders. Accordingly, the petition fails and it was dismissed, the judge added.