GAHC010191152024

2025:GAU-AS:404

THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT

(HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)

Case No. : WP(C)/4836/2024

BHABENDRA KUMAR BAISHYA

S/O- LATE JIBAN CHANDRA BAISHYA, VILLAGE- DALIBARI, PO- DADARA,

DISTRICT- KAMRUP, ASSAM, PIN- 781104

VERSUS

THE STATE OF ASSAM AND 6 ORS

REPRESENTED BY THE PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM, PANCHAYAT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, DISPUR,

GUWAHATI-6

2:THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY

THE GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM

PENSION AND PUBLIC GRIEVANCES DEPARTMENT

DISPUR

GUWAHATI-6

3:THE COMMISSIONER AND SECRETARY

THE GOVERNMENT OF ASSAM

FINANCE DEPARTMENT

DISPUR

GUWAHATI-6

4:THE COMMISSIONER

PANCHAYAT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

ASSAM

JURIPAR SIX MILE

GUWAHATI- 37

5:THE DIRECTOR OF PENSION

ASSAM

HOUSEFED COMPLEX DISPUR GUWAHATI-6

6:THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER ZILLA PARISHAD KAMRUP PO- AMINGAON DIST.- KAMRUP ASSAM PIN- 781031

7:THE TREASURY OFFICER KAMRUP TREASURY PO- AMINGAON DIST.- KAMRUP ASSAM PIN- 78103 Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. M ISLAM, MS A KHATUN Advocate for the Respondent : GA, ASSAM, SC, FINANCE,SC, P AND R.D.

BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY JUDGMENT & ORDER

08.01.2025 Heard Mr. M. Islam, learned counsel for the petitioner; Mr. S. Dutta, learned Standing Counsel, Panchayat & Rural Development [P&RD] Department for the respondent nos. 1, 4 & 6; Ms. M. Bhattacharjee, learned Additional Senior Government Advocate, Assam for the respondent nos. 2 & 5; and Mr. B. Gogoi, learned Standing Counsel, Finance Department for the respondent nos. 3 & 7.

2. The necessary facts which are not in dispute and which are also reflected in the Pension Payment Order [PPO] of the petitioner being PPO no. ADP/PRI/PPO /GPO/2012/000668 [at page 77 of the case papers] can be stated as follows :- the petitioner had joined as a Gaon Panchayat Secretary under Kamrup Zilla Parishad pursuant to an order dated 01.03.1967 passed by the Secretary, Dalbari Sormojuli Gaon Panchayat and he retired from service as Secretary of Singnimari Gaon Panchayat under Kamrup Zilla Parishad on

30.06.2000 on reaching the age of superannuation.

3. During the service tenure of the petitioner, the State Government had enacted the Assam Panchayat Employees [Provincialisation] Act, 1999 [‘the Act’, for short] and as per the provisions of the Act, the provincialised Panchayat Secretaries are to be provided pension and other retirement dues in terms of the provisions of the Act. The services of the petitioner came to be provincialised accordingly, in terms of the provisions of the Act.

4. When a dispute arose as regards the date from which the period of services of the provincialised Panchayat Secretaries was to be counted for the purpose of pension and other retirement dues under the provisions of the Act, litigations ensued. A Division Bench of this Court in a writ appeal, Writ Appeal no. 145/2009 [The State of Assam & another vs. Syed Md. Fazlay Rabbi] and a batch of writ petitions in its common Judgment and Order dated 24.03.2010 set the issue at rest by holding that the benefits of the provisions of the Assam Panchayat Employees [Provincialisation] Act, 1999 [the Act] including those for pension and other retirement dues, would be available to the provincialised employees in service on or after 01.10.1991 on the basis of the length of their services reckoned from the dates of their initial appointments. Special leave petitions, Special Leave to Appeal [Civil] Nos. 19351– 19360/2010 preferred against the common Judgment and Order dated 24.03.2010 was dismissed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India on 02.08.2010. Thereafter, the State Government in the Pension and Public Grievances Department issued a Notification dated 17.03.2011, whereby, it had been ordered that the benefits of the provisions of the Assam Panchayat Employees [Provincialisation] Act, 1999 [the Act] including those for pension and other retirement dues applicable to the State Government Employees, would also be available to the provincialised Panchayat Emplo