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Voluntary retirement notice can be withdrawn any time: HC

Orders Govt To Reinstate Constable

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana high court has made it clear that a notice of voluntary retirement given by an employee could be withdrawn at any time before it is accepted.

The high court held that the state’s action of retiring an employee without adjudicating his withdrawal request violated the settled legal position and principles of fairness.

Service Lawyer HighCourt Chandigarh Panchkula Mohali Punjab and Haryana

The court was also of the view that the authorities’ subsequent rejection of an employee’s withdrawal-after already retiring him was merely “a formality and not sustainable in law”.

Justice Sudeepti Sharma passed these orders while ruling in favour of a Haryana Police constable who withdrew his application for voluntary retirement just three days after submitting it. Setting aside the state’s decision to compulsorily retire the constable, the high court ordered the reinstatement of the constable into service, holding that the state’s action was arbitrary and contrary to established legal principles.

WHAT WAS THE CASE?

➤ Preetpal, a Haryana Police constable serving since 1989, applied for voluntary retirement on Sept 9, 2013, citing personal reasons

➤ Three days later, on Sept 12, he submitted a written

WHAT THE PETITIONER SAID?

➤ Preetpal argued that since he had withdrawn his retirement application before its acceptance, the state’s action of retiring him was illegal and arbitrary

➤ He contended that the authorities failed to decide on his withdrawal request before processing his retirement, violating established legal norms

WHAT THE COURT RULED?

➤ Justice Sudeepti Sharma of the Punjab and Haryana high court ruled that a notice of voluntary retirement can be withdrawn at any time before its acceptance

➤ The court observed that the state’s subsequent rejection of the withdrawal request was merely a formality and unsustainable in law

➤ It set aside the district judge’s 2016 order, restored the civil court’s earlier decree, and directed Preetpal’s reinstatement without back wages under the “no work, no pay” principle

The dispute arose when Preetpal, serving in the Haryana Police since 1989, applied for voluntary retirement on Sept 9, 2013, citing personal reasons. However, within three days, on Sept 12, 2013, he submitted a written request to withdraw his retirement

application. Despite this, the authorities proceeded to accept his original request and issued an order retiring him from service with effect from Sept 30, 2013.

➤ Despite this, the authorities accepted his original request and retired him from service with effect from Sept 30, 2013

Preetpal challenged the retirement order before the civil court, which partly decreed his suit in Jan 2015, recognising his right to withdraw the retirement application. However, the district judge, Narnaul, reversed the decision in Feb 2016, after which he filed a second appeal before the high court.

In a detailed judgment, Justice Sudeepti Sharma observed that the authorities failed to decide Preetpal’s withdrawal application before accepting his voluntary retirement. The court emphasised that a notice of voluntary retirement could be withdrawn at any time before it was accepted, citing landmark Supreme Court de cisions, including Union of India versus Gopal Chandra Misra and Balram Gupta versus Union of India.

Accordingly, the court set aside the district judge’s 2016 order, restored the civil court’s decree of 2015, and ordered Preetpal’s reinstatement into service without back wages, applying the “no work, no pay” principle for the intervening period.

For case specific advice, get in touch with Service Lawyers Punjab and Haryana High Court District Court Chandigarh Panchkula Mohali Derabassi Kharar State Commission 

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