The main legal point established in the judgment is that the denial of pension based on the date of absorption, rather than considering the service rendered, is arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.

1. Heard both sides.

2. The petitioner was initially engaged as Plot Watcher in the Forest Department from 01.04.1967 onwards. He was continued in service on daily wages basis. The service was a continuous one. He was not given time scale of pay. He was absorbed into regular service as Mali with effect from 20.10.2003, after he rendered 36 years of daily wages service and thereafter, he was granted time scale of pay. He retired from service on 30.06.2010 on reaching the age of superannuation. Since the regular service rendered by him falls short of 10 years, he was not paid pension.

3. It is the case of the petitioner that 50 % of service on daily wages basis shall be taken into account along with his regular service for the purpose of pension. He placed reliance on Rule 11 (2) of Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, 1978. But his request to count 50% of service on daily wages basis was declined by the impugned order dated 10.04.2013. Thus, he was denied pension, though he rendered in total a long service of 43 years before retirement. Hence, this writ petition.

4. Therefore, the question that falls for consideration is as to whether the petitioner is entitled to count 50% of his services rendered on daily wages basis along with regular service for the purpose of pension, under the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, 1978.

5. The case of the respondents is that half of the service rendered by the petitioner on daily wages basis could not be counted for the purpose of pension, since he was absorbed into regular service after 01.04.2013. According to the respondents, only if the absorption of daily wages employee took place prior to 01.04.2003, half of the service rendered on daily wages basis could be counted along with regular service. In this regard, the respondents have placed reliance on Rule 11(4) of the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules.

6. In the Forest Department, the sanctioned strength of the entry level posts, namely, Forest Guard and Mali, was only 1328 and 155 respectively. But, a very large contingent of employees were required to protect the vast forest area. Thus, thousands of daily wages employees, like the petitioner, were employed to meet the said situation. They continued as daily wages employees for decades. A seniority list of daily wages employees was prepared containing 5497 persons, as per G.O.Ms.No.64, Environment and Forests Department, dated 08.03.1999 and the regular vacancies in Forest Guard / Mali were filled from the said seniority list. Since there were only 100-150 vacancies arose in those posts every year, thousands of daily wages employees were not regularized and they retired from service as daily wages employees, even after completion of 30 years of their service. Some died without their services were regularized.

7. While so, the Government issued G.O.Ms.No.22, Personnel and Administrative Department, dated 28.02.2006, regularizing the service of daily wages employees/consolidated pay employees/honorarium employees on completion of 10 years of their services. Based on the said G.O.Ms.No.22, dated 28.02.2006, employees in various Departments of the Government were regularized on completion of 10 years of service and they were given monetary benefits also after ten years of service.

8. But, in the Forest Department, in view of G.O.Ms.No.64, dated 08.03.1999, the said G.O.Ms.No.22, P & AR Department, dated 28.02.2006, was not implemented. That is, the temporary employees similarly situated like the petitioner herein, about 5497 persons, mentioned in G.O.Ms.No.64, dated 08.03.1999, in the Forest Department were not regularized on completion of 10 years of service pursuant to G.O.Ms.No.22, dated 21.12.2006, when the benefit was extended to the daily wages employees of other Departments of the Tamil Nadu Government.

9. Hence, the Government issued G.O.Ms.No.95, Environment and Forests (F2) Department, dated 07.08.2009, based on G.O.Ms.No.22, P & AR Department, dated 28.02.2006, and directed to regularize the service