NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday ruled that the retirement age of 60 should be uniformly applied to all the ranks of Indian Coast Guard officers, striking down a rule prescribing different retirement ages for different ranks.
The high court held the rule to be “unconstitutional.” A bench of justices C Hari Shankarand Om Prakash Shukla struck down the provisions of the Coast Guard (General) Rules while saying “vague expressions and exaggerated assumptions have been employed” behind the rule.
The court passed the order while allowing a batch of petitions challenging those rules.
“Resultantly, we hold that the impugned Rule 20(1) and 20(2) of the 1986 Rules cannot sustain scrutiny of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India, to the extent they fix the age of superannuation of officers of the rank of Commandant and below, and enrolled persons, at 57. They are, therefore, quashed and set aside. We hold, therefore, that the age of superannuation of 60 would apply to officers of the Coast Guard at all ranks,” the bench said.
According to the petitions, the rules provided that in the Indian Coast Guard, officers of the rank of Commandant and below would retire at the age of 57, whereas officers above the rank of Commandant would retire at 60. The petitioners claimed that the law was violative of Articles 14 (right to equality) and 16 (equality of opportunity in matters of public employment) of the Constitution.
The central government had opposed the petitions, citing the need for a younger “sea-going profile”, medical fitness concerns, command and control issues and career stagnation risks. The court, however, observed that offshore duties were not exclusively performed by officers below the rank of commandant.
“We are truly astonished at the reasons adduced for justifying retiring officers above the rank of Commandant at 60 and all other officers and personnel of the Coast Guard at 57. The reasons are not supported by one scintilla of empirical data,” the court said.
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