Srinagar, Sept. 30 -- The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh today upheld the premature retirement of an Education department employee, holding that compulsory retirement of a government employee in public interest is an administrative measure and does not amount to punishment.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Dr Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Sanjeev Kumar pronounced the judgment on September 28, 2026, while deciding a Letters Patent Appeal (LPA) filed by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir against a 2018 judgment of a single judge.

The case relates to one Ghulam Mohammad Lone of Lawaypora, Srinagar, who was working in State School Education Department, J&K Government, as a senior assistant at Higher Secondary School...