IMPORTANT POINT
An employee who retires on the last day of the month in which they attain superannuation acquires the status of pensioner only on the following day, thus affecting the applicability of pension rules.

JUDGMENT :

HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY

The petitioner has instituted this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India raising a grievance that his pension and other retirement benefits in the form of - [i] Commuted Value of Pension [C.V.P.]; [ii] Death –cum- Retirement Gratuity [DCRG]; and [iii] Leave Encashment Benefits – have not been disbursed in terms of his entitlements under the Assam State Electricity Board [ASEB] and Successors Companies, Revised Pay Rules, 2017.

2. The case projected by the petitioner in the writ petition, in brief, is that the Assam State Electricity Board [ASEB] was established in 1958 under the Electricity [Supply] Act, 1948. The ASEB used to manage generation, transmission and distribution of powers in the State of Assam as per the duties defined under the Electricity [Supply] Act, 1948. A process of reform was carried out and the ASEB was trifurcated into three new entities viz. [i] Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited [APGCL]; [ii] Assam Electricity Grid Corporation Limited [AEGCL]; and [iii] Assam Power Distribution Company Limited [APDCL]. All the new entities are State Public Sector Enterprises and are inter-alia governed by the provisions of the Indian Electricity Act, 2003.

2.1. It is the case of the petitioner that he joined the erstwhile ASEB in the year 1979 as an Assistant Engineer. During the course of his service period in the erstwhile ASEB and thereafter, with the successor entity, Assam Power Generation Corporation Limited [APGCL], he was promoted from time to time. In the year 2016, he was serving in the APGCL in the substantive post/grade of General Manager. By an Officer Order bearing no. ASEB/PLT/438/1979/268 dated 31.03.2016, the petitioner was released from service on 31.03.2016 on attaining the age of superannuation. On the date of his retirement on superannuation itself, another Office Order bearing no. MD/APGCL/PEN/M-16/180/23 dated 31.03.2016 was issued whereby sanction was accorded for pension, Commuted Value of Pension [C.V.P.], Retirement Gratuity, Family Pension, etc. in respect of the petitioner. As per the said Officer Order, the petitioner was to be paid pension @ Rs. 24,660/- per month w.e.f. 01.04.2016 prior to the date of drawal of 1/3 of C.V.P. and thereafter, @ Rs. 16,440/- per month till his death or restoration of full pension, whichever was earlier. Besides the pension, it was ordered that the petitioner was to be paid C.V.P. of Rs. 9,67,659/- and a retirement gratuity of Rs. 7,00,000/- as admissible under the Board’s Pension Rules, subject to adjustment of outstanding liability amounting to Rs. Nil as per No Demand Certificate.

2.2. It is the further case of the petitioner that consequent to his retirement on superannuation, the respondent Successor entities had published the Assam State Electricity Board and Successor Companies, Revised Pay Rules, 2017 [‘the Revised Pay Rules, 2017’, for short] by an Office Memorandum bearing no. MD/APDCL/PC/236/2017/45 dated 12.12.2017, whereby, the pay and allowances of the employees and pensioners of erstwhile ASEB and its Successor companies i.e. APDCL, APGCL and AEGCL came to be revised. Provisions have been made in the Revised Pay Rules, 2017 for revision of pay and allowances and pension of the employees and pensioners of erstwhile ASEB and three Successor companies including the petitioner. After coming into force of the Revised Pay Rules, 2017, the petitioner has been paid pension @ Rs. 61,160/- per month and the said figure has been worked out by the respondent authorities in terms of Clause 32[1][a] of the Revised Pay Rules, 2017. Aggrieved by the calculation worked out for pension in such manner by resorting to Clause 32[1][a] of the Revised Pay Rules, 2017 by the respondent authorities, the petitioner has approached this Court by this writ petition contending that the pension and other retirement benefits in respect of the petitioner in the form of C.V.P., DCRG, Leave Encashment Ben