Service rendered in Government Aided Privately Managed Schools is countable towards qualifying service for pension under the Punjab Civil Services Rules and the 1992 Scheme.

Surya Kant, J.

1 This order shall dispose of Civil Writ Petition Nos. 14238, 14239 of 1991, 1087 of 1992, 9818 of 1994, 2190 of 2004, 15840 of 2009 and 3477 of 2010, as common questions of law and facts are involved in these cases.

2 The issue that arises for consideration is as to whether the service rendered by a Teacher/Master in a Government Aided Privately Managed School, is countable towards the pensionary benefits on his retirement from the Government service ?

3 For brevity, the facts are being extracted from Civil Writ Petition No. 14238 of 1991.

4 This writ petition has been filed by 120 Teachers/Masters serving in various Government Schools run by the Education Department, Government of Punjab. Their precise claim is that before joining the Government service, they had rendered services in the Government Aided Privately Managed Schools against the posts duly sanctioned under the Grant-in-Aid Scheme in terms whereof, the State Government provides 75% to 95% grant-in-aid to the Institutions towards salary and other expenditure incurred by the Schools. The dates of their appointments or the posts held by them in Government-Aided- Schools, the dates when they were relieved from those Schools to enable them to join the Government Schools on their selection in Government Service as well as their respective dates of joining the Government Schools are fully described in tabulated form in Annexure P-1.

5 It is the pleaded case of the petitioners that since they were appointed against the posts duly sanctioned under the Grant-in-Aid Scheme, they would have been entitled to the pension and gratuity in lieu of the Contributory Provident Fund as provided by the Government of Punjab firstly vide Circular dated 25.5.1989, the relevant part whereof reads as follows :-

"The Punjab Government is already paying grantin-aid @ 95% of the deficit to the management of the aided schools in the State with effect from 1.12.1967. This grant in aid scheme was introduced vide government letter No. 932-EDU.-III-I-E-68/5360 dated 20.2.1968. The employees of these privately managed aided schools have been demanding for the some time past the grant of retirement benefits like pension and gratuity in lieu of contributory provident fund. This matter has been under consideration of the Government. It has now been decided to grant D.C.R.G./Pension/Family Pension and other related benefits in lieu of contributory provident fund to the employees of privately managed aided schools with effect from 5.2.1987 at the relevant rates admissible to the employees of the State Government holding corresponding posts in the schools run by the Government in accordance with the procedure to be prescribed by the Government and further subject to the following conditions :-

1. These instructions shall be applicable to those whole time permanent employees, employed against posts of the aided schools who were appointed on or after 5.2.1987 and also to such existing employees who have not attained the age of superannuation on 5.2.1987 and who opt for the pension and gratuity scheme within the stipulated period in the prescribed proforma.

2. The Managing Committee of the school shall continue to contribute 5% to 10% or such rates, as may be fixed from time to time of the pay as their share of contributory Provident Fund, as if employees are not opting or had not opted for the scheme...."

6 There is no denial to the fact that besides the above-stated Policy Circular, the Government of Punjab notified a Scheme in the year 1992, namely, the Punjab Privately Managed Recognized Aided Schools Recruitment Benefits Scheme, 1992 (for short the `1992 Scheme), to grant pensionary benefits like pension and gratuity in lieu of the Contributory Provident Fund to the Teachers of the Privately Managed Government Aided Schools in the State of Punjab retrospectively from the year 1987 i.e, the cut off date given in the Circular dated 25.5.1989. Clause-3 and 5 of the 1992 Scheme read