An employee's prior daily wage service is to be included in qualifying service for pension eligibility, despite the date of regularization, per recent amendments to service rules.

JUDGMENT :

Satyen Vaidya, J.

By way of instant petition, the petitioner has prayed for grant of following substantive reliefs:-

“i). Respondent may be directed to produce complete service record of petitioner particularly complete muster rolls for the period from 1988 to 1995 pertaining to IPH Sub-Division where petitioner was working along with list of labourers with their initial date of appointment when services of petitioner were illegally dispensed with in 1995.

ii). That after perusal of record if the Court comes to a conclusion that on account of fictional breaks or breaks given due to allegedly non-availability of work by flouting the principle of last come first go, the respondents may be directed to reckon the period of service of the petitioner on daily wages from 29.08.1988, holding the petitioner entitled to work-charged status and regularization with effect from 01.01.2001 with all consequential benefits.

iii) That if the prayer made under item (ii) does not find favour, the respondents may be directed to confer the status of work-charged/regularization from 01.01.2003 instead from 01.01.2004 as the petitioner had served the department for minimum period of 240 days in the calendar year 1995, with consequential benefits.

iv) That the retirement order dated 12.07.2010, Annexure P-3, may be set aside and respondents may be directed to revise the said retirement order to make the same effective from 31.01.2012 instead from 12.07.2010 with all consequential benefits.

v) That order dated 10.06.2015, Annexure P-7, may kindly be set aside and the respondents may be directed to prepare pension papers of the petitioner in a time bound manner as he is entitled to pension in terms of CCS Pension Rules, 1972 and pension and other retirement benefits may be paid to him from due date with interest.”

2. The petitioner was appointed as Beldar on daily wage basis in the respondent-department w.e.f. 21.09.1988. The services of petitioner were terminated on 01.11.1993. Petitioner assailed his termination by way of O.A.(M) No. 403/94 before the erstwhile H.P. State Administrative Tribunal. O.A. (M) No.403/94 filed by the petitioner was disposed of vide order dated 21.11.1994 with direction to the Chief Engineer (North) Dharamshala to consider and decide the case of the petitioner in accordance with law.

3. The representation of the petitioner was decided by the Chief Engineer (North) Dharamshala vide communication dated 20.02.1995. It was observed that notwithstanding the merits of the case, the petitioner had already been engaged by the Executive Engineer, IPH Division Sundernagar.

4. Petitioner was retired from service vide ofÏce order dated 12.07.2010. Post his retirement, the petitioner filed CWP No. 8395 of 1994 before this Court seeking the relief with respect to grant of work charge status/regularization on completion of stipulated number of years. CWP No. 8395 of 1994 was decided on 28.11.2014 by a Division Bench of this Court with liberty to petitioner to approach the respondents and the respondents were directed to decide the case of the petitioner on its merits in accordance with law. Consequently, ofÏce order dated 23.07.2015 was passed by the Executive Engineer, IPH Division Sundernagar. It was observed that the petitioner did not complete 240 days continuous service from the years 1993 to 1995, though his date of engagement was 01.03.1993. He was found to have completed eight years of continuous daily wage service on 31.12.2003. He was accordingly granted work charge status w.e.f. 01.01.2004 and regularization w.e.f. 12.12.2005.

5. Petitioner thereafter filed another Original Application being O.A. No. 4349 of 2015 before the erstwhile H.P. State Administrative Tribunal seeking pensionary benefits besides other reliefs. He sought the benefit of judgment passed by Hon’ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No. 6309 of 2017, titled Sunder Singh vs. State of H.P. & Ors. O.A. No. 4349 of 2015 was decided by the H.P. State Administrative T