The court affirmed that the resignation of a regularized employee should be treated as voluntary retirement, entitling her to pension and retiral benefits under the applicable rules.

JUDGMENT :

I.P. Mukerji, C.J.

1.This is the case of a former government teacher wanting post service retiral benefits as paid to regular teachers by the State. She served from 21^st July, 1989 till about 2^nd February, 2023. It is indeed a long stint of about 34 years. The contention of the State is that she was never a regular employee, being appointed ad hoc and continuing on a temporary and contractual post, thus disentitled to any post service benefits.

2. Being aggrieved she filed the instant writ petition in this Court [WP (C) No.82 of 2023]. A learned single judge by the impugned judgment and order dated 14^th June, 2024, allowed the writ petition by directing all retiral benefits including pension under the Meghalaya Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1983 to the writ petitioner.

3. The State is in appeal before us.

4. Before proceeding further in the matter, narration of facts is necessary.

5. By a government order dated 21^st July, 1989, the respondent was appointed on an “ad hoc basis” as an Assistant teacher by the Inspector of Schools, West Garo Hills.

6. By an order dated 1^st September, 1998 made by the Inspector of Schools, the service of the respondent was regularised from 28^th October, 1996.

7. There is substantial dispute regarding this appointment. The appellant says that the appointing authority had no competence to make the order. The respondent never became a regular employee and continued to be in ad hoc and temporary appointment.

8. It appears from the records that in or about the beginning of 2023, the respondent became interested in contesting a political election. In order to do so, the respondent could not enjoy an office of profit under the government. The evidence before us, in appeal is most interesting and intriguing. I will discuss a set of correspondence.

9. By a letter dated 3^rd April, 2017, the Director of School and Literacy Education, Shillong forwarded to the Special Officer attached to the Government of Meghalaya, Education Department some service documents with a request to it to accord “ex post facto approval on the regularisation on her service with effect from 28^th October, 1996 already made by the then Inspector of Schools”. The Joint Director of School Education and Literacy wrote back to his counterpart in West Garo Hills, Tura on 15^th May, 2017 asking for justification for such approval. On 29^th June, 2017, the Joint Director, Tura replied by narrating the career details of the respondent making a kind of declaration as follows:

“3. It is also found that the service of Smti. Uttora G. Sangma was regularised in Grade ‘A’ based on the order from the Addl. Director of Public Instruction vide No.ESTT/ADM/15/89/28 dated 28/10/1996.

5. Infact, since her regularisation, i.e. 1/9/1996, her service has extended upto 21 years and is not promoted elsewhere on higher scale of pay etc. She has been discharging her duties with the scale of pay per permissible to her.”

10. On 10^th August, 2021, the Under Secretary to the Government of Meghalaya, Education Department asked the Director of School Education and Literacy, Meghalaya to provide detailed information to enable action at their end, which was duly furnished as it appears from the letter dated 4^th October, 2021. On the same lines, other correspondence was exchanged on 20^th September, 2021 and 10^th February, 2022.

11. On 1^st September, 2022, the respondent submitted an application for voluntary retirement from service (VRS) with a request to relieve her from service from 30^th October, 2022. On 29^th November, 2022, the Special Officer to the Government of Meghalaya, Education Department wrote back to the Director of School Education and Literacy that the respondent was an ad hoc employee, “yet to be regularised” and that the application for voluntary retirement should be tendered after regularisation.

12. First of all there is not a word in this correspondence that the authority making the regular appointment of the respondent in 1996 had no authority as sought