Lucknow, Feb. 4 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has dismissed a petition challenging the compulsory retirement of a commissioner of income tax, affirming that the review committee is entitled to scrutinise the "entire service record," including allegations from a quashed charge sheet and adverse entries prior to promotion, to determine the retention of a government servant in public interest. The division bench comprising Justice Sangeeta Chandra and Justice Amitabh Kumar Rai passed the judgement on February 2 on a petition filed by Alok Kumar Mitra. The court upheld the order of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Lucknow, and the order of compulsory retirement passed by the President of India under Fundamental Rule 56(j). The petitioner, Alok Kumar Mitra, was an officer of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), 1992 Batch. After serving in the income tax department from 1995 to 2014 and on deputation to the government of Uttar Pradesh from 2014 to 2017, he was promoted to the post of commissioner of Income tax (senior administrative grade) on September 16, 2015. On June 10, 2019, the petitioner was compulsorily retired from the post of commissioner of income tax (Appeals)-III, Kochi, under Fundamental Rule 56(j). His representation against this order was rejected on August 16, 2019. He challenged these orders before the CAT, Lucknow, which dismissed his application on February 20, 2023. Against it, he aproached the HC by filing the petition. "This Court is of the view that the Review Committee is required to scrutinize the entire service record and can not be precluded from looking into the allegations which may from the basis of the charge sheet, even though the charge sheet has been quashed in relation to disciplinary proceedings." Dismissing the plea, the high court held that the order of compulsory retirement did not suffer from any illegality, arbitrariness, or malice. htc...