M S BINDRA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellant had a steep rise in the hierarchy of Indian Revenue Service and was held in great esteem by his superiors until the dawn of 1985 which marked the beginning of his downfall. He suddenly fell from grace as his integrity was eclipsed by the dark clouds of doubts entertained by his superiors. Consequently at the age of 52 he was asked to quit the department by terming the action as "compulsory retirement". If appellant's stand is correct he would have felt the same way as Cardinal Thomas Wolsey had lamented four centuries ago when his master Henry VIII King of England suddenly stripped him of his high office and indicted him to face a trial. "If I had served God as diligently as I have done the King, He would not have given me over in my grey hairs".

(2.) On 9-10-1985, Government of India (Ministry of Finance) axed the appellant down by serving an order of compulsory retirement. Though he challenged the order before Central Administrative Tribunal (New Delhi Bench) he was unsuccessful. Hence he has filed this appeal by special leave.

(3.) A resume of facts which led to the said necking off is the following: Appellant joined Indian Revenue Service in the year 1958 and was absorbed in the Excise Department. He had a quick rise in the ladder which in 1980 reached him to the level of Director Enforcement and in 1983 as Appellate Collector of Customs and Excise since he earned a high standard of reputation by then as "a very good officer all round". As he proved to be efficient and trustworthy he was entrusted with the high sensitive post of Director of Anti Evasion Wing in 1984 which post he held till June 1985. During the said period a series of raids was conducted by Anti Evasion Squad headed by the appellant and a whopping sum of escaped excise duty was unearthed through such raids. This became the subject matter of extensive media coverage and praises were showered on the department for carrying out such daring operation in big business houses and hoarding places. But the above raids became the commencement of a volte face in the official career of the appellant.