The court upheld that a minimum of 15 years of qualifying service is required for pension eligibility, rejecting claims for pro-rata pension based on incomplete service.

JUDGMENT :

(RAVINDRA V. GHUGE, J.) :

1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith and heard finally by the consent of the parties.

2. The Petitioner seeks to challenge the judgment dated 12^th September, 2023 delivered by the learned Armed Forces Tribunal, Regional Bench, Mumbai. Vide the said judgment, the claim of the Petitioner for pro-rata pension has been refused.

3. In this context, the Petitioner has put forth prayer clauses (a), (b) and (c), as under :

(a) To Call for the records and proceedings pertaining to OA No.129/2022 from Ld. AFT Mumbai.

(b) issue an appropriate writ of certiorari or any other writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari quashing and setting aside the impugned order EX – A.

(c) issue a writ of mandamus or any other writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus to the respondents to grant pro rata pension from the date of discharge from service of respondents as applicable for the mandate of Ex- E.

4. The original application before the learned Tribunal was filed by the Petitioner under Section 14 of the Armed Forces Tribunal Act, 2007 praying for the relief of grant of pro rata pension. His case was that he was enrolled in the Indian Air Force on 22^nd February, 1975. He underwent basic-cum-trade training at the Ground Training Institute, Bangalore. After completing the training in November, 1975, he was posted to 2202 Squadron Air Force under 12 wing Air Force at Chandigarh. The unit moved out to the final location under No.1 wing Air Force where the Petitioner served upto November, 1978 and then was reposted to No.4 wing Air Force.

5. The Petitioner completed H.S.C./intermediate education from Allahabad Board and Graduation from Agra University, in 1981. The Petitioner also completed his Law degree from Sardar Patel University, Anand. On the basis of such education, the Petitioner applied for the post of Security Officer in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). The Petitioner claims that he had applied through proper channel, was shortlisted and was interviewed by the company management on 10^th May, 1984. The Petitioner was offered the post of Security Officer and was appointed on 17^th December, 1984 at the BPCL refinery at Mahul, Mumbai. The Petitioner was an appointee with the CPSE in terms of the GoI MoD letter dated 19^th February, 1987. Based on the same, the Petitioner claimed pro rata pension from the Air Force.

6. It is undisputed that the Petitioner completed 9 years, 9 months and 9 days in the service of the Indian Air Force from 22^nd February, 1975 till 7^th December, 1984. The Petitioner claimed to be in reserve service from 8^th December, 1984 to 7^th December, 1986. The Petitioner applied for pro rata pension on 14^th May, 2022, after 38 years of quitting the Indian Air Force.

CONTENTIONS OF THE PETITIONER

7. The contention of the Petitioner is that the learned Tribunal has not properly appreciated his case and his claim has been unfairly rejected. We have perused the grounds formulated by the Petitioner in the memo of this Petition. It is stated that though his case was covered by the judgment delivered by the Delhi High Court in Brijlal Kumar and Ors. v/s. Union of India and Ors., 2020 SCC OnLine Del 1477, since he had completed 9 years, 9 months and 9 days service, Rule 8(9) of the All India Services (Death-Cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958 would permit rounding of to 10 years and this period should be considered as qualifying service for the purpose of pension. This aspect has been missed/misread by the learned Tribunal and, therefore, the impugned judgment deserves to be quashed and setaside.

8. It is undisputed that in normal circumstances, a JCO, like the Petitioner, was required to complete 15 years in service. Reliance is placed on Rule 8(9) of the All India Services (Death-Cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958, which reads as under :

8(9) The qualifying service shall be calculated in six monthly periods. A fraction of less than three months shall not be taken into account a