The entitlement to pension and retirement benefits is a rightful due upon rendering the required length of service, and the authorities' inaction in regularizing a break in service cannot justify denying the pension.

JUDGMENT :

Sashikanta Mishra, J.

The petitioner joined service as Headmaster of Nilakantheswar M.E. School on 31.03.1961. While working as such he suffered from depressive psychosis and remained under treatment from 01.07.1976 continuously. After his recovery, he became physically fit to discharge duties on 02.07.1981 and accordingly he wanted to resume his duties. But the Managing Committee of the School had by then posted another Headmaster in his place, for which the petitioner reported the matter to the District Inspector of Schools, Puri on 02.07.1981, who in turn directed the Managing Committee of the School to accept the joining report of the petitioner. However, no action whosoever was taken by the Managing Committee on such instructions. In the meantime the School was taken over by the State Government in the year 1990-91 and renamed as Nilakantheswar Nodal U.P. School. While the matter stood thus the petitioner attained the age of superannuation on 13.10.1997 and as such, was due to retire from service w.e.f. 31.10.1997. The order of retirement was not issued by the opposite parties in favour of the petitioner. However, the petitioner submitted his pension papers with request to release his retirement benefits pending final decision on regularization of his service. The petitioner was regularly contributing to the contributory provident fund and after the School was taken over by the State Government, to the Teachers Provident Fund and General Provident Fund. The petitioner had completed the qualifying period of service and was thus eligible to get pension. By letter dated 22.08.2008, the opposite party no.4 also directed the petitioner to furnish the necessary documents along with an affidavit, which the petitioner immediately complied. The opposite party no.4 again on 07.11.2008 asked the petitioner to submit further documents on the ground that no relevant records as per the petitioner’s affidavit could be collected from the Headmaster of the School. According to the petitioner, he had submitted whatever documents were available with him. On the representation of the petitioner the opposite party no.2 by letter dated 09.04.2009 directed the opposite party no.4 to furnish the records/documents mentioned therein for consideration of the grievance of the petitioner. Being aggrieved by the inaction of the opposite parties in the matter of payment of pension, the petitioner approached the erstwhile Orissa Administrative Tribunal Cuttack Bench, Cuttack in O.A. No. 1507(C) of 2009, which was transferred to the Principal Bench Bhubaneswar and renumbered as O.A. No. 1130 of 2013. The said O.A. was disposed of by the learned Tribunal by directing the Director to take a decision in the matter within a period of three moths from the date of receipt of such order. Pursuant to such order, the opposite party no.4 submitted a factual report along with the service book of the petitioner to the Director for sanction of pension and other benefits vide letter dated 26.10.2017. On receipt of the report from the opposite party no.4, the Director vide Office Order dated 04.12.2017 rejected the claim of the petitioner for pension basically on the ground that he had abandoned the service and therefore was not entitled to any pension. It was further held that the petitioner was not coming within the term “retiring pension” under the Orissa Aided Educational Institutions’ Employees’ Retirement Benefit Rules,1981 (in short “1981 Rules”) framed for the aided staff or the OCS (Pension) Rules, 1992 ( in short “1992 Rules”). It is stated that the petitioner had never abandoned the service but only because of his illness he had remained absent for a long period but even before such absence, the petitioner had already completed 15 years of service and is therefore, entitled to be paid pension. Thus, challenging the order dated 04.12.2017 (Annexure-10) passed by the Director, the petitioner has filed the present writ petition with prayer to direct