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2022 Supreme(Mad) 702
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
S.M. SUBRAMANIAM, J.
K. Jayaraman & Others – Appellant
Versus
The State of Tamil Nadu, Represented by its Agricultural Production Commissioner & Principal Secretary to Government, Chennai & Others – Respondents
W.P. No. 29895 of 2014 & M.P. No. 1 of 2014
Decided on : 14-07-2022
For the Appellant :Nalini Chidambaram, C. Uma Advocates.
For the Respondents:S. Anitha, S. Mahesh, V. Vijayshankar, Advocates.
The court emphasized that any further concessions or benefits, if at all to be granted, the petitioners have to approach the Government for the purpose of passing appropriate orders.
Headnote:
Pension Rules - Absorption of Cooperative Society employees into Government Department - Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, 1978 - The court considered the claim of the writ petitioners to reckon the services rendered by them in TANCOF as qualifying services under the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules. The court held that the transfer of employees from TANCOF to the Government Department was a policy decision taken by the Government, and the non-pensionable services rendered by the petitioners in TANCOF were not taken into consideration for the purpose of reckoning the qualifying services for the grant of pensionary benefits under the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, 1978. The court emphasized that any further concessions or benefits, if at all to be granted, the petitioners have to approach the Government for the purpose of passing appropriate orders.
Fact of the Case:
The writ petitioners sought to count the period of services rendered by them in the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Oilseeds Growers Federation Ltd as qualifying services under Rule 11 of the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, 1978. The Government rejected their claim on the ground that the services rendered by the writ petitioners in the TANCOF were non-pensionable services.
Finding of the Court:
The court held that the transfer of employees from TANCOF to the Government Department was a policy decision taken by the Government, and the non-pensionable services rendered by the petitioners in TANCOF were not taken into consideration for the purpose of reckoning the qualifying services for the grant of pensionary benefits under the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, 1978.
Issues: The main issue was whether the services rendered by the writ petitioners in TANCOF should be reckoned as qualifying services for the purpose of pension under the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, 1978.
Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasized that any further concessions or benefits, if at all to be granted, the petitioners have to approach the Government for the purpose of passing appropriate orders. The court held that it cannot add any new condition or term which is otherwise not contemplated under the policy of the Government.
Final Decision: The writ petition stands disposed of with the liberty for the respondents to consider the representations made by the petitioners, and there shall be no order as to costs. The connected miscellaneous petition is closed.
JUDGMENT :
(Prayer: Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying for the issuance of a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for the records of the first respondent having Ref.No.Lr.No.2569/OS/2014-12, dated 15.10.2014 and quash the same and consequently direct the first respondent to accept the recommendation of the third respondent in his letter dated 31.08.2010 having Ref.No.Na.Ka.Ve.Vi.P/1075/A1/03 and the fourth respondent in its letter dated 23.12.2008 having Ref.No.AG(A&E)/Pen.30/III/08-09/34 and pass a Government Order treating the service rendered by the erstwhile Tamil Nadu Cooperative Oil Seeds Growers Federation Limited employees as qualifying service under Rule 11 of the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules for the purpose of calculation and payment of pension and other retiral benefits to the petitioners from the date of their retirement.)
1. The order of rejection, rejecting the claim of the writ petitioners for reckoning the period of services rendered by them in the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Oilseeds Growers Federation Ltd [TANCOF] as qualifying services under Rule 11 of the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, 1978, is under challenge in the present writ petition.
2. The petitioners joined the services of Tamil Nadu Cooperative Marketing Federation Ltd [TANFED], which was subsequently converted as Tamil Nadu Cooperative Oilseeds Growers Federation Ltd [TANCOF]. TANCOF is a Cooperative Society registered under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Societies Act, 1983. In view of the financial loss occurred in the TANCOF Cooperative Society winding up proceedings were initiated under Section 137 of the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Societies Act, 1983 [hereinafter referred to as the 'Act', in short]. The Government took a policy decision to absorb all the TANCOF employees into the Agriculture Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. Accordingly, an order was passed in G.O.Ms.No.142, Agriculture Department, dated 04.06.2002.
3. The absorption of employees were made by creating certain posts and by granting pay protection to the employees. The Chairman and Managing Director of TANCOF sent proposals for transfer of the Agriculture Extension Wing of TANCOF along with its staff to the control of the Commissioner of Agriculture. In the proposals, the Managing Director has stated that the Agriculture Extension Wing, which is having 11 cadres comprising both Agriculture Extension Wing with Ministerial staff numbering 151 in six Area Offices and two Units in Neyveli viz., Area Agronomic Centre and Training Centre, is implementing the Centrally Sponsored Schemes and State Schemes in its Project Districts and involved in seed production and distribution to the member of the oilseeds growers societies and to Department of Agriculture and has requested that the staff attached to the above mentioned Units may be transferred to the control of the Commissioner of Agriculture in the equivalent posts. The equivalent posts also identified and accordingly, all those employees, including the petitioners, were transferred to the Department of Agriculture under the control of the Commissioner of Agriculture. Accordingly, 151 staff, attached to these Units under the control of the Commissioner of Agriculture, were absorbed subject to maintaining separate identity. The Government accordingly passed the following orders:-
“(i) The Centrally Sponsored Schemes and State Schemes and production and distribution of seeds and other related functions now performed by TANCOF shall be transferred to the Commissioner of Agriculture with immediate effect.
(ii) The Area Agronomic Centre and Training Centre at Neyveli and the Area Offices at Tiruvannamalai, Cheyyar, Virudhachalam, Madurai, Erode and Tirunelveli with all the posts attached to it and all infrastructure available shall be transferred to the control of Commissioner of Agricu
