On July 4, the Lakshadweep Administration invoked Fundamental Rule 56(j) — a provision meant for periodic screening of underperforming staf...

On July 4, the Lakshadweep Administration invoked Fundamental Rule 56(j) — a provision meant for periodic screening of underperforming staff — to compulsorily retire 47 employees in one order: 37 multi-tasking staff, 6 upper division clerks, 3 lower division clerks and a stenographer. A special committee reviewed service records and recommended the sweep; the administration's own justification stopped at 'public interest,' with no public breakdown of what the review actually found. It's the second mass forced retirement in the Union Territory this year. The affected employees get three months' pay in lieu of notice and their pension — and, for the second time in 2026, no real explanation of why they specifically were the ones let go.