Amendment to Rule 5(1) restricting ex-servicemen's military service count for pay fixation to post-qualification period applies prospectively; full service benefit under unamended rule available to those offered appointment prior to notification.

JUDGMENT :

Sandeep Sharma, J.

Primarily the question, which needs to be determined in the case at hand is “whether the benefit of approved military service for the purpose of pay fixation in terms of Sub-Rule 1 of Rule 5 of Rules, 1972, can be denied to the Ex-servicemen in terms of amendment carried out in aforesaid Rule 5 vide Notification dated 29.01.2018, wherein it came to be provided that only the period of approved military service rendered after attaining the minimum age and educational qualification prescribed for the service concerned by the candidate against reserved vacancy shall count towards fixation of pay in that service at the time of first civil employment against reserved vacancy”.

2. Quintessential, facts as emerge from the pleadings adduced on record by the respective parties are that petitioner herein, who is an Ex-serviceman, after his having rendered more than 15 years of approved military service in the Indian Armed Forces, appeared in the competitive examination to get civil employment i.e. Junior Clerk in the Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Bank in the year 2017 under the category of OBC (Annexure P-1). Petitioner successfully passed the competitive examination, as detailed hereinabove, and accordingly was issued appointment letter dated 27.09.2017 (Annexure P-2).

3. Though in terms of aforesaid appointment letter, petitioner was required to report to the Manager/Incharge of Branch Office Surgani, Chamba, on or before 09.10.2017, but since at relevant time, he was not relieved from the Armed services, he made request through representation dated 03.10.2017 for extension in joining time (Annexure P-3). Pursuant to afore request made by the petitioner, respondent-Bank vide communication dated 16.10.2017 (Annexure P-4) extended joining time till 28.02.2018. While granting afore extension, petitioner came to be specifically apprised vide afore communication that rest of the terms of terms and conditions, as contained in the appointment letter dated 27.09.2017, shall remain same.

4. After his having retired from the Armed services on 31.01.2018, petitioner reported for duty at Branch Office Surgani, District Chamba on 26.02.2018 (Annexure P-5). Since petitioner herein was not granted benefit of entire approved military service rendered by him prior to his being given civil employment, he filed representation (Annexure P- 6), however, such prayer of him was rejected vide communication dated 27.09.2021 (Annexure P-7). In the afore background, petitioner has approached this Court in the instant proceedings, praying therein for following main reliefs:

“I. That appropriate Writ or direction may very kindly be issued to respondent that to fix the pay of the petitioner while counting the entire past years service as ex-serviceman.”

5. In nutshell, case of the petitioner, as has been highlighted in the petition and further canvassed by Mr. Neeraj Kumar Shashwat, learned counsel representing the petitioner, is that respondents ought not have applied the amended Rules with retrospective date, rather entire military service rendered by the petitioner ought to have been taken into consideration for the purpose of pay-fixation in terms of unamended Rule 5 (1). Mr. Shashwat, learned counsel representing the petitioner, submitted that since petitioner herein was offered appointment against the post of Junior Clerk vide appoi