IMPORTANT POINT
Employees who retired on attaining 58 years of age and obtained retiral benefits, they could not be permitted to take benefit of retirement at 60 years of age as given by Court to those writ petitioners who filed writ before retirement.

Headnote:SERVICE LAW—Writ petition challenging retirement at the age of 58 years—Petitioners-respondents were employees of U.P. Jal Nigam and contention was that State Govt. employees were allowed to continue up to age of 60 years—High Court dismissed writ petitions—Supreme Court allowed appeals holding that employees of Nigam were entitled to continue upto 60 years—During pendency of appeals and after disposal of appeals, several writ petitions were filed by employees claiming relief—High Court allowed those writ petitions on basis of Supreme Court judgment—Appeal—Whether employees who did not wake upto challenge their retirement and accepted same and collected their post retirement benefits, could they be given relief in light of decision given by Supreme Court? No—Question of delay and laches.
       Held : The question of delay and laches has been examined by this Court in a series of decisions and laches and delay has been considered to be an important factor in exercise of the discretionary relief under Article 226 of the Constitution. When a person who is not vigilant of his rights and acquiesces with the situation, can his writ petition be heard after a couple of years on the ground that same relief should be granted to him as was granted to person similarly situated who was vigilant about his rights and challenged his retirement which was said to be made on attaining the age of 58 years. A chart has been supplied to us in which it has been pointed out that about 9 writ petitions were filed by the employees of the Nigam before their retirement wherein their retirement was somewhere between 30.6.2005 and 31.7.2005. Two writ petitions were filed wherein no relief of interim order was passed. They were granted interim order. Thereafter a spate of writ petitions followed in which employees who retired in the years 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, woke up to file writ petitions in 2005 & 2006 much after their retirement. Whether such persons should be granted the same relief or not?(Para 6)
       In view of the statement of law as summarized above, the respondents are guilty since the respondents has acquiesced in accepting the retirement and did not challenge the same in time. If they would have been vigilant enough, they could have filed writ petitions as others did in the matter. Therefore, whenever it appears that the claimants lost time or while away and did not rise to the occasion in time for filing the writ petitions, then in such cases, the Court should be very slow in granting the relief to the incumbent. Secondly, it has also to be taken into consideration the question of acquiescence or waiver on the part of the incumbent whether other parties are going to be prejudiced if the relief is granted. In the present case, if the respondents would have challenged their retirement being violative of the provisions of the Act, perhaps the Nigam could have taken appropriate steps to raise funds so as to meet the liability but by not asserting their rights the respondents have allowed time to pass and after a lapse of couple of years, they have filed writ petitions claiming the benefit for two years. That will definitely require the Nigam to raise funds which is going to have serious financial repercussion on the financial management of the Nigam. Why the Court should come to the rescue of such persons when they themselves are guilty of waiver and acquiescence.(Para 13)
       Therefore, in case at this belated stage if similar relief is to be given to the persons who have not approached the Court that will unnecessarily overburden the Nigam and the Nigam will completely collapse with the liability of payment to these persons in terms of two years’ salary and increased benefit of pension and other consequential benefits. Therefore, we are not inclined to grant any relief to the persons who have approached the Court after their retirement. Only those persons who have filed the writ petitions when they were in service or who have obtained interim order for their retirement, those persons should be allowed to stand to benefit and not others.(Para 15)

JUDGMENT

A.K. Mathur, J.—Leave granted.

2. All this batch of appeals involve similar questions of law and fact, therefore, they are disposed of by this common order.

3. All these respondents are the employees of the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam ( hereinafter to be referred to as ‘the Nigam’) and they were retired on attaining the age of superannuation at 58 years. Some of them filed writ petitions in the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad challenging the retirement of the employees of the Nigam on attaining the age of 58 years whereas the State Government employees were allowed to continue up to the age of 60 years and therefore, they should also be allowed to continue up to the age of 60 years. The writ petitions filed before the High Court failed and against that Civil Appeal No.7840 of 2002 and batch of other appeals were filed before this Court. This Court disposed of the case of Harwindra Kumar along with other appeals and held that employees of Nigam are entitled to continue up to 60 years. This has been reported in (2005) 13 SCC 300. The operative portion of the said judgment reads as under :

“10. For the foregoing reasons, we are of the view that so long as Regulation 31 of the Regulations is not amended, 60 years which is the age of superannuation of government servants employed under the State of Uttar Pradesh shall be applicable to the employees of the Nigam. However, it would be open to the Nigam with the previous approval of the State Government to make suitable amendment in Regulation 31 and alter the service conditions of employees of the Nigam, including their age of superannuation. It is needless to say that if it is so done, the same shall be prospective.

11. For the foregoing reasons, the appeals as well as writ petitions are allowed, orders passed by the High Court dismissing the writ petitions as well as those by the Nigam directing that the appellants of the civil appeals and the petitioners of the writ petitions would superannuate upon completion of the age of 58 years are set aside and it is directed that in case the employees have been allowed to continue up to the age of 60 years by virtue of some interim order, no recovery shall be made from them but in case, however, they have not been allowed to continue after completing the age of 58 years by virtue of erroneous decision taken by the Nigam for no fault of theirs, they would be entitled to payment of salary for the remaining period up to the age of 60 years which must be paid to them within a period of three months from the date of receipt of copy of this order by the Nigam. There shall be no order as to costs.”

4. It appears that during the pendency of the appeals and writ petitions before this Court and after disposal of the same by this Court, a spate of writ petitions followed in the High Court by the employees who had retired long back. Some of the petitions were filed by the employees who retired on attaining the age of 58 years long back. However, some were lucky to get interim orders allowing them to continue in service. Number of writ petitions were filed in the High Court in 2005 on various dates after the judgment in the case of Harwindra Kumar (supra) and some between 2002 and 2005. All those writ petitions were disposed of in the light of the judgment in the case of Harwindra Kumar (supra) and relief was given to them for continuing in service up to the age of 60 years. Hence, all these appeals arise against various orders passed by the High Court from time to time.

5. So far as the principal issue is concerned, that has been settled by this Court. Therefore, there is no quarrel over the legal proposition. But the only question is grant of relief to such other persons who were not vigilant and did not wake up to challenge their retirement and accepted the same but filed writ petitions after the judgment of this Court in the case of Harwindra Kumar (supra). Whether they are entitled to same relief or not? Therefore, a serious que

Click Here to Read the rest of this document

2006 Supreme(SC) 1091

IMPORTANT POINT Employees who retired on attaining 58 years of age and obtained retiral benefits, they could not be permitted to take benefit of retirement at 60 years of age as given by Court to those writ petitioners who filed writ before retirement.

Cases Referred (7)

IMPORTANT POINT
Employees who retired on attaining 58 years of age and obtained retiral benefits, they could not be permitted to take benefit of retirement at 60 years of age as given by Court to those writ petitioners who filed writ before retirement.