TARASINGH UJAGAR SINGH Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) As regards the contention of the Union that the plaintiff held "post connected with defence" and that the grievance of the plaintiff is not justiciable, it is necessary to refer to the provisions of Arts. 310(1) and 311 of the Constitution which provide as follows :-

(2.) It is obvious that Art. 310(1) deals with tenure of office of persons holding posts and offices under the Union or a State. It is also patent on the language of that article that the tenure as fixed under the article can only be affected or altered by provisions contained in the Constitution itself. By the language of the article it is made impossible for any other statute made by Parliament or State Legislature to provide for different tenure of office. The limitation as regards the tenure, if any, must be found in the Constitution.

(3.) Article 311, which provides for protection of persons employed by the Government, can only be available to specific persons mentioned in that article. The protection provided by Art. 311 is protection given to a member of (i) a civil service of the Union or (ii) an all-India service or (iii) a civil service of a State or (iv) a person who holds a civil post under the Union or a State. All these specific persons and/or members of each class mentioned in Art. 311 are also mentioned Art. 310. It is, however, significant that Art. 310 makes specific reference to (a) "a member of defence service" and (b) "persons who hold posts connected with defence."