Prior service in Central Government can be counted for pension benefits under specific rules stated in KSR.

JUDGMENT

These two writ petitions are connected and therefore, I am disposing of these two writ petitions by a common judgment.

2. First I will narrate the facts in W.P.(C)No.28083 of 2017:

The petitioner, after about 11 years of service in Doordharsan, joined the Kerala State Electricity Board on getting relieved from Doordarsan with prior permission. He is now aggrieved for non-reckoning of his past service for pension and other benefits. The petitioner was initially appointed as Technician in Doordarshan, Ernakulam under the Central Government on 21.11.1988. While working there, he applied for the post of Sub Engineer in the Kerala State Electricity Board in response to public notification issued by the Kerala Public Service Commission. It is the case of the petitioner that the application for the post of Sub Engineer was routed through Doordarshan (his then employer) to the Public Service Commission and the Doordarshan permitted the petitioner to participate in the written test and interview as evident by Exhibit P1. The petitioner was selected by the Public Service Commission and accordingly Ext.P2 relieving order was issued by the 5th respondent. The petitioner joined the Electricity Board on 14.06.1999. In the services of the Board the petitioner was promoted as Assistant Engineer in the year 2006 and thereafter he retired from service on 31.5.2017 on attaining superannuation. It is the case of the petitioner that he had rendered 10 years, 6 months and 23 days of service in Doordarashan under the Central Government. In the Electricity Board the petitioner has rendered about 17 years of service. The Doordarshan refused to grant service gratuity and retirement gratuity to the petitioner on the ground that upon tendering resignation, he has forfeited his past service. Ext.P3 is the communication. According to the petitioner the reasoning in Ext.P3 is per se illegal and unsustainable for the reason that resignation for the purpose of taking further pensionable service will not entitle in forfeiture of past service as per Rule 26(2) of CCS(Pension) Rules. But as per Ext.P4, the issue of reckoning past service under the Central Government by the State Government employees have been considered in detail. Ext.P4 provides that liability of pension including gratuity of employees moved from Central Government to State Government and vice versa will be borne out by the Central/State Governments to which the Government servant permanently belong at the time of retirement and no recovery proportionate pension will be made from the Central Government/State Government under who he had served. It is also the case of the petitioner that the service book of the petitioner in respect of his service in Doordarshan has been tagged with the Service Book opened in Electricity Board. The petitioner submitted Ext.P5 representation and as per Ext.P6 the 2nd respondent rejected the claim of the petitioner stating that, as per Board order dated 01.09.2005 prior service rendered in Central Government, Public Sector and Central Government undertaking can be reckoned only if pro-rata amounts pertaining to their service is remitted by the prior employer to KSEB Limited. It is the case of the petitioner that, in the light of Exhibit P4, a statutory amendment is carried out to Note 2 appended to Rule 11 of Part-III KSR which speaks about the services which could be reckoned for pension. In the light of the same it is submitted that the past service of the petitioner in the Central Government is to be reckoned. The petitioner also relies on the judgments of this Court inBabu M Paulose vs. KSEB [ 2014(2) KHC 187 ], State of Kerala v. Haridasan [ 2015 (2) KLT 145 ] and the Full Bench decision inJayakumar S. v. State