The court ruled that the entire service of the petitioner from 1979 to 2015 must be considered for pension calculation, subject to the deposit of management contributions, as earlier cut-off dates were deemed arbitrary.

JUDGMENT :

J.J. Munir, J.

1. The petitioner was appointed on 1.7.1977 as an Assistant Teacher with the Tagore Vidyalaya, Farrukhabad, an unaided Junior High School at the time. The petitioner's appointment was duly approved by the District Basic Education Officer, Farrukhabad (for short, 'the BSA') vide order dated 25.1.1979. His name figured at serial No. 10 of the approval order made by the BSA. The Tagore Vidyalaya, Farrukhabad was upgraded to a High School in the year 1983 and the institution came to be known as the Tagore Higher Secondary School, Dilawarganj, Farrukhabad. It was recognized under the Uttar Pradesh Intermediate Education Act, 1921 and fell within the purview of the Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Services Selection Boards Act, 1982. The petitioner was promoted to the LT Grade vide order dated 19.8.1994 passed by the District Inspector of Schools, Farrukhabad (for short, 'the DIOS'). His name finds place at Sr. No. 6 of the list, set out in the order of the DIOS. The Tagore Higher Secondary School, Dilawarganj, Farrukhabad was extended the Government grant-in-aid vide order dated 8.2.1996, whereupon the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh High Schools and Intermediate Colleges (Payment of Salaries of Teachers and Other Employees) Act, 1971 (for short, 'the Act of 1971) became applicable to it. The Institution's name is mentioned at Sr. No. 98 of the order dated 8.2.1996. The services of the teaching and non-teaching employees of the Tagore Higher Secondary School, Dilawarganj, Farrukhabad were accepted vide order dated 27.3.1997, passed by the Joint Director of Education, Kanpur Region, Kanpur, directing payment of their salary by the State under the Act of 1971. The petitioner's name finds place at Sr. No. 7 of the Joint Director's order dated 27.3.1997.

2. It is the petitioner's case that he has been paid salary drawn on the State Exchequer under the Act of 1971, since February, 1996 regularly. In the year 2002, the petitioner was transferred from the Tagore Higher Secondary School, Dilawarganj, Farrukhabad to the National Model Higher Secondary School, Mau Road, Agra vide order dated 21.3.2002, made by the Additional Director of Education (Secondary), U.P. He retired from service on 30.6.2015, upon attaining the age of 62 years. At the time of his retirement, he was holding the post of a LT Grade Teacher in the National Model Higher Secondary School, Agra. The petitioner says that since the year 1977 and until his retirement in the year 2015, the petitioner has been consistently working earlier with the Tagore Vidyalaya Junior High School, Dilawarganj, Farrukhabad before its upgradation to a High School and a Higher Secondary School, all unaided institutions, and subsequently with the said institution aided since 8.2.1996. In the final lap of his service, the petitioner served with the National Model Higher Secondary School, Agra, until his retirement. Post retirement, the petitioner's services for the purpose of determination of his pension were reckoned with effect from the year 2002 to 30.6.2015 by the Deputy Director of Education (Secondary), Agra Region, Agra vide order dated 20.5.2015.

3. The petitioner's services were reckoned since the year 2002, that is to say, the time the petitioner was transferred from the Tagore Higher Secondary School, Dilawarganj, Farrukhabad to the National Model Higher Secondary School, Agra vide order dated 21.3.2002. The petitioner represented his case after retirement to the Education Authorities/respondents with a prayer to take into account the entire length of his service from the date of his initial appointment in the year 1979 to the year 2015 for the purpose of computation of his post retiral benefits and not to limit such consideration to the year 2002. He requested that his pension be re-determined. It is his case that the petitioner's services were substantive, permanent and regular since his initial appointment in the year 1979 with the Tagore Vidyalaya Junior High