Transferred employees' service with the State Government should be taken into account for determining pension and retirement benefits from the University, subject to the condition that the employee is entitled to benefits from only one source.

B.C.Basak and Aftab Alam JJ.

1. By this writ application the petitioner seeks direction to the University to pay his pension and other retirement benefits on his superannuation from the service of the University.

2. The facts are brief and not controverted ; initially the petitioner was an employee of the State Government where he served till 5-12-1983. His services were then transferred to Patna University and on his option he continued there till he retired from the University on 31-1-1988. Admittedly, his pensionary benefits and other retirement benefits are yet to be determined and finally paid to him.

3. We have heard the learned Counsel for the petitioner and Mr. Rafat Alam appearing on behalf of the University and we have also perused the writ application, the counter-affidavit and the reply to the counter-affidavit filed on behalf of the petitioner.

4. Mr. Rafat Alam has contended that the petitioner is not entitled to any pensionary benefits and has placed reliance in this regard to Rule (5)(ii) of the Statute For Grant of Retirement Benefits to the Employees of the University. Mr. Alam read the rule to mean that having been a transferred employee from the State Government the petitioner was required to have served the University for a minimum period of five years before he could claim any pension or retirement benefits from the University. We cannot entertain this interpretation of the aforesaid rule. A plain reading of the rule makes it quite clear that what the rule really envisages is something quite different from what is submitted before us. This rule clearly provides that in case a person had been in the service of the State Government for a period of more than five years before his transfer to the University, then his service with the Government shall also be taken into account for determining his pension and other retirement benefits ; in case, however, this period was less than five years then it would not be taken into account for determining the pension and other retirement benefits of the transferee employee. In the present case the petitioner had been in the temporary service of the State Government for a period much more than five years and, therefore, that period as also to be taken into account while determining his pension and other retirement benefits to be paid by the respondent University.

5. This is, however, subject to the Proviso that a transferred employee is entitled to his pension and other retirement benefits from one source only, that is either from the Government or from the University. In that view Mr. Rafat Alain made a request, which we find reasonable, that the University may be permitted to make an enquiry as to whether the petitioner has received any pension or other retirement benefits from his erstwhile employer, that is, the State Government.

6. Accordingly, we direct the University to make an enquiry in this regard after giving due notice to the petitioner, such enquiry must be concluded by June 15,1992, and if it is found that the petitioner has not received any pension or other retirement benefits from the State Government then the University must determine his pension and other retirement benefits and pay the same to the petitioner with interest at the rate of 10% per annum from the date of his retirement to the date of payment within one week from June 15, i.e. by June 22, 1992.

7. In the result, this application is allowed. In the facts and circumstances of this case, there will be no order as to costs.