IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED: 18-03-2025 CORAM THE HONOURABLE MRS JUSTICE N. MALA WP No. 8887 of 2021 and WMP.No.9420 of 2021 D.Mohan ...Petitioner Vs

1. The Secretary to Government Department for Welfare of the Differently Abled, Secretariat, Chennai.

2. The Director for Welfare of the Differently Abled, O/o.The State Commissionerate for the Differently Abled, No.5, Kamarajar Salai, Chennai 5

3. The Secretary to Government, Social Welfare and Nutritious Meal Programme Department, Secretariat, Chennai. ...Respondents Prayer: Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of Constitution of India, praying for issuance of writ of certiorarified mandamus, calling for the records relating to the first respondent herein in letter No. 3774/ MaThi Na.1/ 2020-2 dated 17.11.2020 communicated by the 2nd respondent through the letter bearing Na. Ka. No. 8360/ Nir-1/ 2018 dated 23.2.2021 and quash the same is concerned and direct the 1^st respondent herein to usher with the benefit of calculation of the services rendered in the Tamil Nadu Ceramics Limited (TACEL) with the services rendered in the Social Welfare Department for the purpose of pension to the petitioner with the brief intermittent period of non-

employment before joining the Department of Social Welfare.

For Petitioner: Mr. S.P.Patel For Respondents: Mr.L.S.M.Hasan Fazil, AGP

O R D E R

Aggrieved by the order passed by the first respondent in letter No. 3774/

MaThi Na.1/ 2020-2 dated 17.11.2020, the present writ petition has been filed.

2. The case of the petitioner is that he was employed in regular time scale of pay in the Tamil Nadu Ceramics Limited ( TACEL), a Government of Tamil Nadu undertaking from 02.01.1975 to 14.01.1991. He was retrenched from service and after a break in service of 1 year, 4 months and 12 days, he joined as Junior Assistant in the Department of Social Welfare on 26.05.1992. Thereafter, while he was serving as Superintendent in the Commissionarate for the Differently Abled, Chennai, he retired from service on attaining the age of superannuation on 31.01.2011.

3. It is the further case of the petitioner that similarly placed person namely K.Ananthanarayan, Junior Assistant (Retired) by order in G.O.(D) No.1, Social Welfare & Nutritious Meal Programme (SW.1) Department, dated 04.01.2018, was granted benefit of counting of 50% of the service rendered by him in the Tamil Nadu Ceramic Limited (TACL) for the purpose of calculation of pension, ignoring the short intermittent gap of non-employment before his joining the Social Welfare Department. Subsequently, another person namely, R.Kesavan, who was also similarly placed was also granted same benefit vide G.O.(MS).No. 206, Social Welfare & Nutritious Meal Programme (SW1) Department, dated 09.10.2019. Hence, the petitioner submitted a representation to the respondents on 31.08.2018, to extend the same benefits to him. Though, the 2^nd respondent recommended the petitioner's case, the 1^st respondent rejected the same by the impugned order dated 17.11.2020.

Aggrieved by the same, this writ petition has been filed.

4. Counter affidavit was filed by the respondents 1 & 2, wherein it was stated that petitioner was working in Tamil Nadu Ceramics Limited (TACEL) as a temporary staff from 02.01.1975 to 13.01.1991, and he was retrenched from the service on 13.01.1991. Thereafter he was appointed as junior assistant in the Social Welfare Department on 26.05.1992. The Social Welfare Department was bifurcated as State Commissionerate for Differently Abled and the petitioner was retained in the State Commissionerate for Differently Abled. The respondents stated that in the absence of any provisions in the Tamil Nadu Pension Service Rules, to treat the break-in service as duty period and count the same for the purpose of calculation of pension, the break in sevice period from14.01.1991 to 25.05.1992 of the petitioner could not be counted for pensionary service. The respondents therefore stated that the rejection order p