*Orders payment of pensionary benefits
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 20: The Supreme Court bench comprising Justice B V Nagarathna and Justice Prasanna B Varale converted the removal of J&K Judicial Officer into premature retirement with pensionary benefits holding that the punishment was disproportionate to the charges proved against him.
The Supreme Court, in a landmark ruling on proportionality in disciplinary proceedings, has held that the removal of a Judicial Officer from service was harsh and disproportionate and substituted the penalty with premature retirement carrying proportionate pensionary benefits.
The Court delivered the judgment while deciding civil appeals filed by a Judicial Officer of the Jammu and Kashmir judiciary who was terminated. The Court observed that although certain charges in the departmental inquiry were proved, the punishment of removal resulting in complete denial of pension could not be justified in law.
The Bench emphasised that disciplinary penalties must conform to the doctrine of proportionality and should not assume a punitive character disproportionate to the misconduct established. Taking note of the fact that the officer was removed from service in the year 2000 and is now nearly 80 years old, the Court held that reinstatement was impractical but denial of pension would amount to grave injustice.
Accordingly, the Supreme Court converted the punishment of removal into premature retirement, entitling the appellant to pensionary benefits. The Court further directed the State to compute and disburse pension arrears by March 31, 2026, and to ensure regular monthly pension payments thereafter, deeming the officer to have completed the requisite qualifying service.
The appellant was represented by Advocate Keshav Thakur, who successfully argued that the punishment imposed was harsh, grossly disproportionate and violative of settled principles of service jurisprudence.
The ruling is expected to have a far-reaching impact on disciplinary jurisprudence, particularly in cases involving long-pending service disputes and denial of pensionary rights.
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