Point of Law : Clause (e) of Rule 56 unequivocally recognizes, declares and guarantees retiring pension to every Government servant who retires on attaining the age of superannuation, or who is prematurely retired or who retires voluntarily. To be precise, every Government servant who retires under Clause (a) of Clause (b), or who is required to retire, or who is allowed to retire under Clause (C) of Rule 56, becomes entitled for a retiring pension, of course, the first and third conditions stipulated in Article 361 of the Regulations are satisfied.

JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Sri Syed Wajid Ali, learned counsel for the petitioner, and Ms. Monika Arya, learned Additional Chief Standing Counsel appearing for the respondents.

2. The petitioners, through the present writ petition, have prayed for a writ of mandamus commanding the respondents to grant pension and other retiral benefits to them.

3. The petitioners, who are five in numbers, were engaged as Seasonal Collection Amin on different dates in Tehsil Sadar, District Maharajganj. Their services were regularized and all of them have retired. The details of all the petitioners in respect of their date of engagement, regularization, and retirement are given in the table below:-

4. It is stated in the writ petition that the petitioners had worked as Seasonal Collection Amin continuously except with some artificial break before they were regularized on the post of Collection Amin. The petitioners were granted the pay scale applicable to the regular Collection Amin and their salary was revised from time to time with the approval of the competent authority, therefore, the working of the petitioners cannot be treated as Seasonal Collection Amin rather they were temporary employees, hence, after retirement, they are entitled to retiral benefits including the pension because of Regulation 368 & 370 of the U.P. Civil Service Regulations.

5. As the petitioners are entitled to all the retiral benefits including pension, accordingly, they submitted a representation to respondent no.2-District Magistrate/Collector, Maharajganj to grant them all the retiral benefits including pension, but the competent authority informed them that since they had discharged their duties as Seasonal Collection Amin before their regularization, therefore, they are not entitled to the pension and other retiral benefits.

6. Further, the case of the petitioners is that the petitioners have served as Collection Amin for more than three decades, therefore, the respondent authority has acted arbitrarily and malafidely in not extending the benefit of pension to the petitioners.

7. In the counter affidavit of the respondent nos. 2 and 3, the assertions made by the petitioners in respect of their engagement as Seasonal Collection Amin and their regularization have not been denied. However, in paragraphs nos.10 & 11 of the counter affidavit, it is averred that the petitioners are not entitled to the pensionary benefits in view of Government Orders dated 15.09.2011, 19.05.2016, and 15.05.2009 and further in view of Uttar Pradesh Retirement Benefits (Amendment) Rules, 2005 which clarified that the persons appointed on or after 01.04.2005 are not covered by Pension Rules. It is further stated that whatever post-retiral benefits were due to the petitioners, they have been paid.

8. Strangely, a separate counter affidavit has been filed by respondent no.1 stating therein that the services rendered by the petitioners as Seasonal Collection Amin before regularization is liable to be counted for the qualifying period of 10 years service for the purpose of giving pension and other retiral benefits. Paragraph no.2 of the counter affidavit of respondent no.1 is being extracted here-in-below:-

“ 2. That in the present petition, the petitioners continued to work on the post of seasonal collection Amin and their scales were also being revised and subsequently, their services were regulariz