SANJEEV PRAKASH SHARMA,J. - (1.) By way of filing instant petition, the petitioner has approached this Court being aggrieved by the action of the respondents in refusing to accept the application filed by him for withdrawing the application for voluntary retirement.
(2.) Facts of the case, in brief, are that the petitioner was holding the post of Skilled Weaver in the Rajasthan Rajya Bunkar Sahakari Sangh Limited, Jaipur which later on merged with Rajasthan Handloom Development Corporation Ltd. He submitted an application for seeking voluntary retirement on 6.7.1999 which was considered and accepted on 7.7.1999 allowing him to retire w.e.f. 1.8.1999. Before the said date, the petitioner submitted an application for withdrawing his voluntary retirement application on 31.7.1999 but the said withdrawal application was not accepted by the respondents and he was relieved from the post on 4.9.1999 w.e.f. 1.8.1999 and the delay in relieving the petitioner was on account of asking him to deposit a sum of Rs. 15,000 which he deposited on 2.8.1999. The petitioner has challenged the Order dated 7.7.1999 as well as the relieving Order dated 4.9.1999 and has asserted that once the petitioner had withdrawan his voluntary retirement, it was not justified for the respondents to have relieved him from his duties and treat him as having voluntary retired. It is submitted that the petitioner had an absolute right to withdraw his voluntary retirement application and once the said application has been moved and thereafter if the petitioner is relieved, the same would be a forcible termination of service.
(3.) Counsel for the petitioner has relied on the law laid down by the Apex Court in the case of Balram Gupta v. Union of India, (1987) Supp SCC 228 and J.N. Srivastava v. Union of India and Anr. (1998) 9 SCC 559 wherein it has been held as under:- "In our view the said reasoning of the Tribunal cannot be sustained on the facts of the case. It is now well settled that even if the voluntary retirement notice is moved by an employee and gets accepted by the authority within the time fixed, before the date of retirement is reached, the employee has locus poem'tentiae to withdraw the proposal for voluntary retirement. The said view has been taken by a Bench of this Court in the case of Balram Gupta v. Union of India, 1987 Supp SCC 228. In view of the aforesaid decision of this Court it cannot be said that the appellant had no locus standi to withdraw his proposal for voluntary retirement before 31-1-1990.";