BIRINDER SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CHALLENGE in the present writ petition is to the order dated 20.07.2009 (Annexure P -10) retiring the petitioner from the post of District & Sessions Judge.

(2.) THE petitioner was appointed in the year 1983 as Sub Judge IIIrd Class -cum -Judicial Magistrate IInd Class and was promoted as Additional Civil Judge (Senior Division) in the year 1996. The petitioner was promoted as Additional District & Sessions, Judge in February, 1999. It is pleaded by the petitioner that the Annual Confidential Report (for short 'the ACR') of the petitioner for the last 10 years are "B+" except for the years 2001 -02 and 2002 -03 for which period the same were recorded as "Satisfactory". The said two ACRs alongwith the ACR for the year 1998 -99 were down -graded to "B -Average" after the lapse of 8 years and conveyed to the petitioner on 08.02.2008. The petitioner has also pointed out that he was charge -sheeted in the year 1997 with the allegation of tampering with the interim orders dated 07.05.1997 and 19.05.1997 in pursuance to a complaint filed at the instance of Shri S.S. Sidhu, Advocate. Thereafter, the District & Sessions Judge, Bhatinda, was asked by the High Court to conduct a preliminary enquiry. Subsequently, a departmental enquiry was conducted by Shri S.D. Anand, the then District & Sessions Judge (Vigilance) and later Judge of this Court. On the basis of the enquiry report, a show cause notice was served upon the petitioner proposing punishment of removal from service, but vide order dated 04.11.2004 punishment of stoppage of three annual grade increments with cumulative effect was imposed. It is pointed out by the petitioner that the order dated 01.08.2008, which led to the order of premature retirement was passed by the same Judge, who was the then District & Sessions Judge and submitted his preliminary enquiry report against the petitioner. The order dated 01.08.2008 has been passed by the Hon'ble Mr. Justice H.S. Bhalla in Criminal Misc. No. 5658 -M of 2008 titled "Anil Narang vs. State of Punjab", whereby the order passed by the petitioner directing the petitioner therein to furnish bank guarantee in the sum of Rs.9 lac was set aside by observing as under:

(3.) IN the ACR for the year 2007 -08 (for the year ending 31.03.2008), the following remarks were recorded in Column Nos.7 to 9: