- (1.)BY this writ petition the petitioner challenges the validity of proceedings being taken for departmental action against him under Section 7 of the Police Act as well as the order placing him under suspension from the post of police constable. Various writs were prayed for but in effect the prayer made was for quashing the proceedings under Section 7 of the Police Act including the order of dismissal from service and for setting aside the order of suspension.
(2.)THE only ground on which the prayer was sought was that, at the time when the disciplinary proceedings were started under Section 7 of the Police Act at well as at the time when the order of dismissal was made or the order of suspension was passed, the petitioner had ceased to be in police service, because he had voluntarily retired from the service. This submission was based on a letter sent by the petitioner on 1 May 1961 in which the petitioner purported to exercise his option to retire voluntarily from Government service. The question that has arisen is whether on the mere exercise of the option to retire from service, the petitioner ceased to be in police service.
(3.)THE option to retire granted to a servant of the State of the Uttar Pradesh Government is governed by Article 465 of the Civil Service Regulations, as amended in its application to Government servants in the service of the Uttar Pradesh Government. The amendments to Article 465 were made twice. The first amendment was made by a notification, dated 3 October 1947, and the second one by a notification, dated 15 October 1948. Clause (1) of Article 465 of the Civil Service Regulations on which reliance has been placed by the petitioner reads as follows: A retiring pension is granted to a Government servant who is permitted to retire after completing qualifying service for twenty-five years or on attaining the age of fifty years. This article of the regulation does not give any absolute right to a Government servant to retire on merely indicating his option to do so. It specifically mentions that a pension is granted when the Government servant concerned is "permitted to retire. " For becoming entitled to pension, the Government servant, therefore, is to obtain permission to retire, which indicates that no absolute right is given to the Government servant to retire without his request for retirement being accepted by the Government or the appropriate authority empowered by the Government in that behalf.