Forcible retirement of headmaster unreasonable, J&K High Court

Srinagar, Aug 16 (UNI) Jammu and Kashmir High Court has quashed the forcible retirement of a government high school headmaster by the government for poor results.

The order was unreasonable and unsubstantiated, a single bench of the High Court, Justice Bashir Ahmad Kirmani said.

In the case Tahira Akhter vs State and others, Justice Kirmani said that the government had passed the order without application of mind.

The petitioner, headmaster in government High School Natipora, had been prematurely retired for ''poor results'' in class 10th board examination in April 2005.

The court after hearing the arguments from Ms Akhter's counsel senior advocate Mian Abdul Qayoom and government lawyer held that the government had taken only a particular period of service of the petitioner into consideration, while conveniently ignoring her meritorious contribution to the department in her 33 years of service.

It said all materials to her favourable have been ignored while making such assessment which appears to be in contrast with the well expressed judicial opinion that while assessing a government employee for premature retirement her whole service record has to be kept in view and not only a particular portion.

The petitioner was prematurely retired after eight students who appeared in class 10th examination from her school failed.

The committee, headed by chief secretary of the State, that had laid down the guidelines for premature retirement of non-performing government employees, had said only those employees would be considered for retirement who fail to achieve the set targets for three years, without any specific justifiable reason.

Here, the petitioner was condemned by the government unheard, in clear violation of the committee's guidelines, the petitioner said.

The committee had also said if the pass percentage of students in any subject taught by teacher will be below average consistently for three years then he shall be considered for premature retirement.

But in the case of the petitioner, the result percentage of the subjects taught by her during the period considered by the government, 2002 and 2003, was as high as 84 per cent, the fact ignored by the government while taking the decision.

The court held the headmaster wasn't responsible for only class 10th, but for the whole institution comprising 11 classes in which the result percentage was excellent.

Moreover, the role in the school during the petitioner's stay increased remarkably and the performance of the Headmaster in co-curricular activities was commendable.

There is noticeable exclusion of petitioner's service record especially his APRs from consideration regarding which one can not shut his eyes'', the court said adding the impugned order of petitioner's retirement, not being based on sufficient material, having been issued without any cogent material to reasonably support it, suffers from the vice of arbitrariness and can not sustain.

The court admitting the petitioner's plea that the government order was arbitrary and unjust, the judge ordered that the impugned order of petitioner's premature retirement is quashed.

UNI