Employer Cannot Stop Employee From Taking Voluntary Retirement Without A Valid Reason: Delhi High Court

In a recent judgment, the Delhi Court ruled that the employer cannot withhold the voluntary retirement of an employee indefinitely. Referring to Rule 56(k) of the Fundamental Rules, the court held that the possibility of an inquiry cannot be a valid reason to withhold someone’s retirement. If a vigilance clearance is pending, that doesn’t make a valid reason to stop an employee from taking voluntary retirement.

The case pertained to Sandeep Gupta, Superintending Engineer in the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) within BRO. He joined the service in 1995 as an Assistant Executive Engineer and received promotion during the service before he took voluntary retirement in 2017, due to family responsibilities and his health issues. He applied for the pension as per CCS Pension Rules, however, the department did not act on his request.

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After several reminders to the department, Gupta had o resort to the court. He filed a writ petition, basis that his retirement should be considered from the date of end of his notice period. But the department’s argument was he has a pending vigilance clearance and due to some pending enquiries, his retirement has been withheld.

The department offered the argument that Gupta has been a defence witness in one of the other officers’ matters under inquiry. Further, a departmental inquiry may also be required against him basis some corruption allegations. A Court of Inquiry has also been initiated for some wrongdoing in his House Rent Allowance (HRA) claims.

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Gupta argued that he submitted the retirement request as per rules and an employer can withhold an ‘employee’s right to retire’ only under specific circumstances, such as suspension or if the employee is facing a chargesheet. In his case, no such reason was given by the department during his service or notice period.

The court in its ruling explained the rule, Rule 56(k) of the Fundamental Rules. As per the rule, a government employee opting for voluntary retirement has to serve a three-month notice period before retiring. The retirement can be withheld only in case of suspension of an employee, or the employee is facing a charge sheet, or if there is a trial for misconduct under any judicial proceedings. 

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No such condition was present in Gupta’s case. A ‘pending vigilance clearance or a potential inquiry’ cannot be the reason for withholding retirement. The court held that if an employer has an objection against the retirement of an employee, the rejection must be communicated to the employee in writing before the completion of the notice period. Failure to do so will be considered as deemed acceptance of the retirement request.

The court observed that HRA wrongdoings, corruption allegations, or the court of inquiry are not valid reasons as per rules, and besides this, there was no charge sheet filed by the department in Gupta’s case. It ordered the department to issue a pension and give retirement benefits to Gupta not later than two months.