IMPORTANT POINTS
(1) Writ Jurisdiction – Laws of limitation do not apply to exercise of jurisdiction under Article 226 of Constitution of India.
(2) Pension is a life long benefit – Denial of pension is a continuing wrong.

JUDGMENT :

INDIRA BANERJEE, J.

1. Delay Condoned.

2. This Special Leave Petition has been filed challenging the final judgment and order dated 28th November 2019, in D.B. Special Appeal Writ No. 443 of 2018 passed by the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan Bench at Jaipur, whereby the High Court dismissed the Writ Appeal filed by the Petitioners and upheld the judgment of the Single Bench dated 5th May 2017 in S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 5879 of 2009, whereby the Single Judge had allowed the Writ Petition filed by the Respondent.

3. The Respondent was initially appointed as an Assistant Charge Man in the Rajasthan Agriculture Engineering Board, Department of Agriculture, Government of Rajasthan w.e.f. 13th January 1967.

4. The Engineering Board was subsequently merged with the Rajasthan State Agro Industry Corporation. Accordingly, the services of the Respondent were transferred to the Rajasthan State Agro Industry Corporation vide transfer order dated 8th July 1970, on the same pay scale. He worked with Rajasthan State Agro Industry Corporation continuously till 12th April 1977.

5. Pursuant to an advertisement dated 16th June 1976 issued by the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (hereinafter referred to as “RPSC”) the Respondent applied for the post of Assistant Director (Agro-Industries). The Respondent was selected for the post of Assistant Director (Agro-Industries), Department of Industries, State of Rajasthan.

6. The Respondent was appointed as Assistant Director (Agro-Industries), Department of Industries, State of Rajasthan by an order dated 7th April 1977. According to the Respondent, he joined service in the Department of Industries on 16th April 1977.

7. The Respondent while serving in the Department of Industries, attained the age of superannuation and retired on 30th April 2003 from the post of Additional Director of Industries, Headquarter, Jaipur. However, while counting the length of service of the Respondent for the purpose of calculating pension and other retiral benefits, the Petitioners did not count the tenure from 13th January 1967 to 12th April 1977 (i.e. the period for which the Respondent worked for the Rajasthan Agriculture Engineering Board and the Rajasthan State Agro Industry Corporation).

8. The Respondent submitted representations to the Department of Industries requesting that his service tenure from 13th January 1967 to 12th April 1977 be counted for the purposes of his pension and retiral benefits. However, the request for counting the service tenure from 13th January 1967 to 12th April 1977, was not granted.

9. Aggrieved, the Respondent filed S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 5879 of 2009 before the Single Judge, Rajasthan High Court on or about 20th March 2009. The moot point for consideration before the Single Judge was, whether service rendered by the Respondent/Writ Petitioner prior to resignation from the Rajasthan State Agro Industry Corporation, should be counted for the purpose of pension.

10. By a Judgment and Order dated 5th May 2017, the Single Bench allowed S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 5879 of 2009 and held that the service rendered by the Respondent with the Rajasthan Agriculture Engineering Board and the Rajasthan State Agro Industry Corporation, was liable to be counted, while computing pension/other pensionary benefits of the Respondent.

11. The Writ Petition was disposed of with a direction to the Petitioners to count the earlier period of service rendered by the Respondent with the Rajasthan Agriculture Engineering Board and the Rajasthan State Agro Industry Corporation to compute the total pensionable service of the Respondent and release his pension and retiral benefits including arrears of pension with interest @ 9% p.a. within a period of three months from the date of the submission of the certified copy of the order. According to the Respondent, a copy of the judgment and order dated 5th May 2017 was submitted to the Petitioners on 15th May 2017 by registered post. However, the Pet