Regular appointments are made against available substantive vacancies and do not contemplate regularization from the date when the vacancies were not in existence.

JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Sri Syed Wazid Ali, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri R.S. Umrao, learned Standing Counsel for the State respondents.

2. The petitioners who were initially appointed as Seasonal Collection Amin in the revenue department on temporary basis, their services came to be regularized under U.P. Collection Amin Service Rules, 1974 between the years 1992 to 1995 and they all attained the age of superannuation between 2013 to 2022. Upon attaining the age of superannuation they have been conferred upon the benefit of pension as admissible under the old pension scheme and petitioners are individually getting the pension. Now they have approached this Court for direction to the authority to count period spent in service by petitioners prior to their regularization, towards qualifying period of pension.

3. Per contra, learned Standing Counsel submits that U.P. Collection Amin Service Rules, 1974 rules provide regular appointment against substantive vacancies and for this purpose there is a quota fixed for those who are working on temporary basis in the department as Seasonal Collection Amin. He submits that rule do not contemplate regularization being offered from the date when the vacancies were not in existence. A confirm/regular appointment offered to the Seasonal Collection Amin against available substantive vacancies . He submits that relevant provisions of rule have never been challenged rather petitioners have availed the benefit of the same. He has also placed the reliance upon the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Uday Pratap Thakur & Another v. State of Bihar: AIR 2023 SC 2971 in which principle laid down in the judgment of Prem Singh v. State of U.P.: (2019) 10 SCC 516 has been further explained and clarified whereby observations are made to the effect that Prem Singh's judgment (supra) which offers benefit to those employees who have rendered their services on dailywage basis/temporary basis/work charge basis only for the purposes of giving them benefit of pension under the old pension scheme. The reason being that they were being offered appointment on regular basis for the service rendered by them on ad hoc basis/temporary basis/work charge basis.

4. Having heard learned counsel for the respective parties and having perused the records and having gone through the relevant service rules, I find that rules do contemplate confirmed appointment of the Seasonal Collection Amins only on the basis of availability of vacancy applying 35 per cent quota under the rules. It is not disputed by the petitioners that they were offered confirmed/permanent appointment in the regular cadre of the Collection Amin upon availability of vacancy as per rules as they fell within 35 per cent quota as has been fixed under the service rules. They have never questioned regular appointment from the date they were offered the same upon availability of substantive vacancies. Now, thereafter they continued in service and they also availed benefit under the old pension scheme taking, therefore, period from the date of initial ad hoc/temporary towards qualifying service period for pension. So, now they have approached this Court with this request that their period already rendered as Seasonal Collection Amin should be taken into consideration for the purpose of computing qualifying period for pension.

5. In a nutshell the argument is if the period in question, is taken into account towards qualifying period for pension , their pension will get increased.

6. In my considered view, this argument of the petitioner is misplaced for the simple reason that no Collection Amin can avail the benefit of regular appointment from the date of initial appointment as the regular appointment is done under the rules against available vacancies and rules have never been challenged. Once the petitioner has availed the benefit of relevant provisions of the Rules that contemplate regular appointment/regularization against the available substantive