SAVARINATHAN G Vs. DIRECTOR OF POSTAL SERVICES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THOUGH this writ appeal relates to a considerable area of facts traversed in Writ Petition No. 3060 of 1967, which was dealt with by Kailasam, J. , the point now before us is a very short one. The writ petitioner was an Assistant Superintendent of the Postal Department at Madras, and he was compulsorily retired from service under certain rules. Admittedly, he was originally in the clerical cadre for some years, and later he became a gazettes officer of the department.

(2.) IT is common ground between the department and the writ appellant, represented by Sri V. Rajagopalachari, that the department now seeks to rely on the notification No. 2350, dated 21 July 1965, constituting the Sixth Amendment to the Fundamental Rules. These relate to the age at which such Government servants are due to retire, and the circumstance under which they might be permitted to serve beyond that age. The relevant part of the rules is the amendment to Fundamental Rule 56 (c), under which a Government servant, who entered the service prior to 31 March 1938, "shall be retained in service till the day he attains the age of 60 years. " If this rule is to apply, the writ petitioner will certainly be entitled to continue in service till his sixtieth year, and, any order, prematurely retiring him before that date, may not be in accordance with the rules.

(3.) BUT the rules have to be read as a whole, and an exception has been statutorily framed with regard to this very rule. That is not disputed by Sri Rajagopalachari for the writ appellant. The exception is in the following terms:. . . (j) Notwithstanding anything contained in this rule, the appropriate authority shall, if it is of the opinion that it is in the public interest to do so, have the absolute right to retire any Government servant after he has attained the age of 55 years by giving him notice of not less than three months in writing.