6. Learned advocate for the respondent relied on a
decision in the case of Baldeve Raj Chandra V. Union of
India (1981) 1 SCR 430 AIR 1981 SC 70). In that case, the
appellant was compulsorily retired on the basis of his poor
performance many years ago. He had been allowed to cross
the efficiency bar and there was nothing adverse in his
service record for the past five years. The Court said that the
order of compulsory retirement could not be sustained as it
ignored relevant material. This judgment has no application
to the facts of the present case.
13. While viewing this case from the next angle for
judicial scrutiny i.e., want of evidence or material to reach
such a conclusion, we may add that want of any material is
almost equivalent to the next situation that from the
available material no reasonable man would reach such a
conclusion. While evaluating the materials the authority
should not altogether ignore the reputation in which the
officer was held till recently. The maxima Nemo Firut
Repente Turpissiums (no one becomes dishonest all of a
sudden) is not unexceptional but still it is salutary guideline
to judge human conduct, particularly in the field of
Administrative Law. The authorities should not keep the
eyes totally closed towards the overall estimation in which
the delinquent officer was held in the recent past by those
who were supervising him earlier. To dunk an officer into
the puddle of doubtful integrity it is not enough that the
doubt fringes on a mere hunch. The doubt should be of
such a nature as would reasonably and consciously be
entertain able by a reasonable man on the given material.
6. Learned advocate for the respondent relied on a
decision in the case of Baldeve Raj Chandra V. Union
of India (1981) 1 SCR 430 AIR 1981 SC 70).In that
case, the appellant was compulsorily retired on the
basis of his poor performance many years ago. He had
been allowed to cross the efficiency bar and there was
11
nothing adverse in his service record for the past five
years. This Court said that the order of compulsory
retirement could not be sustained as it ignored relevant
material. This judgment has no application to the facts
of the present case.
13. While viewing this case from the next angle for
judicial scrutiny i.e., want of evidence or material to
reach such a conclusion, we may add that want of any
material is almost equivalent to the next situation that
from the available material no reasonable man would
reach such a conclusion. While evaluating the materials
the authority should not altogether ignore the reputation
in which the officer was held till recently. The maxima
Nemo Firut Repente Turpissiums (no one becomes
dishonest all of a sudden) is not unexceptional but still it
is salutary guideline to judge human conduct,
particularly in the field of Administrative Law. The
authorities should not keep the eyes totally closed
towards the overall estimation in which the delinquent
officer was held in the recent past by those who were
supervising him earlier. To dunk an officer into the
puddle of doubtful integrity it is not enough that the
doubt fringes on a mere hunch. That doubt should be of
such a nature as would reasonably and consciously be
entertain able by a reasonable man on the given
material. Mere possibility is hardly sufficient to assume
that it would have happened. There must be
preponderance of probability for the reasonable man to
entertain doubt regarding that possibility.
"6. Learned advocate for the respondent relied on a decision in the case of Baldeve
Raj Chandra V. Union of India (1981) 1 SCR 430 AIR 1981 SC 70).In that case, the
appellant was compulsorily retired on the basis of his poor performance many years ago.
He had been allowed to cross the efficiency bar and there was nothing adverse in his
service record for the past five years. This Court said that the order of compulsory
retirement could not be sustained as it ignored relevant material. This judgment has no
application to the facts of the present case."
In Baldev Raj Chadha v. Union of India (supra) cited by Mr. Acharya, learned counsel for the petitioner the Supreme Court found that the adverse entries of the petitioner for the years 1961-62 to the end of 1970 had been taken into consideration and the petitioner had been compulsorily retired on the basis of the said adverse entries whereas the petitioner in the said case had no adverse entries during the last five years immediately before the compulsory retirement, i.e. during 1971-72, 1972-73, 1973-74, 1974-1975 and 1975- 1976 till the date of his retirement from the service on August 27, 1975 and the petitioner had been allowed to cross Efficiency Bar and had been paid maximum salary in the scale. On these facts, the Supreme Court held that the order of compulsory retirement fails because vital material, relevant to the decision has been ignored and obsolete material, less relevant to the decision has influenced the decision. In the present case, on the other hand, the adverse entries/ features of the service records of the petitioner during the years and months just prior to the impugned orders not to extend the service of the petitioner have been taken into consideration and these adverse entries are obviously relevant entries and not entries which were obsolete and not relevant to the decision.
In the case of Baldev Raj Chadha vs. Union of India and
others, reported in (1980) 4 SCC 321, the Supreme Court made certain
observations in general. However, in the present case, the respondents
have considered the past records of the petitioner, her integrity, over all
reputation of the petitioner in the Judicial Department and arrived at a
conclusion that the petitioner deserved to be retired compulsorily in public
interest. Thus, the decision making process in the present case satisfied the
requirements to invoke F.R. 56(2) .
In Baldev Raj Chadha v Union of India, emphasising the
fact that exercise of powers under Fundamental Rule 56(j) must be
bona fide and promote public interest, this Court observed that: