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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, AJAY RASTOGI, ANIRUDDHA BOSE, JJ.
V. Sukumaran – Appellant
Versus
State of Kerala and Another – Respondents
Civil Appeal No. 3984 of 2010
Decided On : 26-08-2020
Service Law – Pension – Entitlement – Appellant was able to advance his career by going through process of direct recruitment by KPSC successfully – It is not a case of some unreasonable or improper benefit being extended to appellant but that he competed against others and was successfully recruited – Appellant was transferred to Fisheries Department and demitted office from there after earning promotion – To say that appellant would be denied benefit of period spent as CLR worker for his pensionary benefit would be to treat his case as inferior one to case of other CLR workers who never went through a system of recruitment for regularisation but were regularised in Fisheries Department to provide better working conditions and monetary benefits to employees – Claim of appellant arises from G.O.s, which are beneficial efforts for CLR workers to improve conditions of working along with monetary benefits – Appellant is being deprived of maximum pensionable service which would be permissible to him if his period of CLR service is recognised as qualifying service and there is no reason to deny the same to him when other CLR workers have got this benefit at the time of their absorption and subsequent regularisation as SLR workers and who would have, by virtue of joining at a later point of time, rendered less service – Appellant is entitled to succeed in present appeal and impugned orders are liable to be set aside – Benefit of service rendered as a CLR worker would be liable to be counted for determining pensionary benefits of appellant at par with other CLR workers and pension be accordingly calculated. (Paras 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, )
Facts of the case:
The appellant has been claiming his entitlement for pension for the last almost 13 years but unsuccessfully, despite having worked with Government departments in various capacities for about 32 years. Single Judge dismissed the writ petition by the order dated 16.1.2009 primarily on the ground that the appointment of the appellant to the Revenue Department was in pursuance of his selection by the KPSC and, thus, he could not compare himself with the CLR workers, who had obtained regularisation as SLR workers and were governed by various G.O.s.
Findings of Court:
Claim of the appellant arises from the G.O.s, which are beneficial efforts for the CLR workers to improve the conditions of working along with monetary benefits. The appellant did work for the aforesaid long period of time as a CLR worker and should, thus, be entitled to the same on parity vis-à-vis other CLR workers.
Result : Appeal allowed with costs.
JUDGMENT :
SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.
1. Pension is succour for post-retirement period. It is not a bounty payable at will, but a social welfare measure as a post-retirement entitlement to maintain the dignity of the employee. The appellant has been claiming his entitlement for the last almost 13 years but unsuccessfully, despite having worked with Government departments in various capacities for about 32 years.
The Facts:
2. The controversy emanates from the appellant having worked in these different capacities with two different departments from time to time, albeit continuously. The appellant joined respondent No. 2, Department of Fisheries of the State Government of Kerala as a Casual Labour Roll (for short ‘CLR’) worker on 7.7.1976 in a then pilot project on Pearl Culture, at Vizhinjam, Thiruvananthapuram. He worked upto 29.11.1983 rendering 7 years, 4 months and 23 days of service as a CLR worker whereupon the District Officer, Kerala Public Service Commission (for short ‘KPSC’) advised him to join the Revenue Department, Kannur District as Lower Division Clerk (for short ‘LDC’) on his participation in a direct recruitment process. He accordingly reported for duty on 30.11.1983. On having rendered a few years of service, the appellant sought an inter-departmental transfer from the Revenue Department back to the Fisheries Department and returned to Thiruvananthapuram and joined on 18.9.1987 on probation of two years with the service being subsequently regularised on 18.9.1989. The appellant earned his promotion as Upper Division Clerk (Higher Grade) (for short ‘UDC’) from which post he retired on attaining the age of superannuation on 31.12.2008. The total service rendered by the appellant was about 25 years, but excluding the service as CLR.
Developments:
3. In order to ameliorate the financial remuneration for CLR and Seasonal Labour Roll (for short ‘SLR’) posts, the State Government passed a slew of Government Orders (for short G.O.) from time to time and that is what gave hope and cause of action to the appellant as he sought the benefits under the same.
4. Some CLR workers were aggrieved by their non-regularisation of service, despite a G.O. dated 4.11.1989, which had provided for their absorption as SLR workers if they had rendered 240 days a year of service in the Fisheries Department prior to 16.9.1985. On these persons approaching the High Court, the State Government was asked to address the issue and on such examination G.O. dated 20.8.1993 was issued creating 29 SLR posts in the Fisheries Department for absorption of the existing CLR workers. A. G.O. was also issued on 31.3.2001 subsequently noting that these 29 SLR posts were created for such of the CLR workers who had completed 500 days of work before 1.4.1987, and simultaneously 27 employees in the Fisheries Department, who had worked for the past 20 years and had also completed 8 years as SLR workers were ordered to be permanently absorbed with consequent pensionary and provident fund benefits. Subsequently, the service and wage conditions of the SLR workers of the Fisheries Department were brought at par with those in the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Department with effect from 31.3.2001 in pursuance of the G.O. dated 13.7.2006. It was, however, also stipulated that no new appointments would be made in the Fisheries Department in the CLR/SLR/HR categories.
5. Another significant development was the issuance of G.O. dated 21.8.2006 to the effect that the Pension (Gratuity) Rules of the SLR Workers/Permanent Labourers of Fisheries Department (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Pension Rules’) were framed to grant pension to these workers and bringing them at par with those working in the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Department. The Pension Rules were brought with retrospective effect from 31.3.2001. These Pension Rules were to apply to all those SLR workers/Permanent Labourers of Departmental Hatcheries/Farms in the Fisheries Department, who were still in service a
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