An employee absorbed into pensionable service under specific terms promising pensionary benefits is entitled to those benefits, and such rights cannot be revoked by the retrospective application of a general scheme or by the State pleading ignorance of the law.

Bipin Chander Negi, Judge

The present appeal has been preferred against the impugned judgment dated 17.09.2025, passed in CWPOA No. 5517 of 2019, filed by respondent No. 1, whereby the said respondent has been held entitled to pensionary benefits, in accordance with CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 w.e.f. the date of retirement by taking into account the qualifying service of the said respondent from the date the respondent had joined the Himachal Pradesh General Industries Corporation Ltd., as a regular employee along with all consequential benefits.

Respondent No. 1 in the case at hand had worked as daily wage Driller in the Mining Project in Bilaspur since 1972. The aforesaid engagement of the said respondent was in the Himachal Pradesh General Industries Corporatioun Limited. The services of the respondent No. o1 were regularized on 02.01.1998, Annexure P-1C (page 106 of the paper book).

Upon rationalization/structuring of Himachal Pradesh General Industries Corporation Limited, the employees of the Mining Project at Bilaspur, wherein H respondent No. 1 was working was declared surplus and hence deployed on secondment basis in terms of office order dated 29.07.2002, Annexure P-2, (page 108 of the paper book). The deployment on secondment was in the Directorate of Industries & IT, Himachal Pradesh, Shimla-

1. On secondment Respondent No. 1 had been deployed as a Chowkidar in the Directorate of Industries & IT.

Vide office order dated 11.06.2004, Annexure P-4 (page 104 of the paper book), on the recommendations of the Departmental Absorption Committee, the services of the respondent No. 1 were absorbed. The absorption was by way of transfer as specifically stated in condition no 2 of the absorption office order. For the purpose of the present appeal, the relevant term and condition, whereupon the services of the said reuspondent had been absorbed, as per Clause-2 and Colause-3, are being reproduced herein below:- C

“2. The absorption by way of transfer is purely on h temporary basis. He will be on probation for a period of 2 years from the date of joining subject to further extension of one year in special circumstances. Failure to complete i the prescribed probation to the satisfaction of the Competent Authority will render him liable for discharge from service/reversion to his parent office if he holds a lien against a permanent post there.

3. The benefit of past services for the purpose of pay protection and pension etc. shall be granted in the case if he will deposit the employer share into Consolidated Fund of the State and employee share into General Provident Fund without waiting for one year service condition in accordance with Rule 38 of the CPF Rules .”

In pursuance to the afore-stated condition of absorption, respondent No. 1 on 14.06.2025, deposited the employer share in the Consolidated Fund of the State and the employee share in the General Provident Fund. The same is evident from the copies of the challans placed at pages 123/124/125 of the paper book by virtue of which deposit had been made in the Treasury.

After having successfully, completed eleven years and three months as a regular employee and twenty six years as daily wuager, respondent No. 1 retired on 31.03.2009. Hoowever, vide letter dated 12.03.2009 (Page 129 of Cthe paper book), benefits of pension to which respondent No. 1 was entitled to in terms of condition No.3, reproduced (supra) contained in the office order pertaining to the absorption of the said respondent dated H 11.06.2004, pension was denied.

By way of CWP No. 4046 of 2011, letter dated 12.03.2009, whereby pension had been denied to respondent No. 1 was assailed by the said respondent. The said petition was disposed of vide judgment dated 20.07.2012. By virtue of the said judgment, the authorities were directed to consider the case of respondent No. 1 in light of Clause-3 of the absorption order dated 11.06.2024.

An appeal by way o