Contract period to be counted for pension, other benefits: HC
Shimla, December 27
The High Court has held that the services rendered by an employee on a contract basis, prior to his regularisation, will be treated as qualifying service for pension.
Answering the issue in affirmative, a Division Bench comprising Justices Tarlok Singh Chauhan and CB Barowalia observed:“The work-charge status followed by regular appointment has to be counted as a component of qualifying service for the purpose of pension and other retiral benefits and even ad hoc service, followed by regular service, in the same post has to be counted for the purpose of increments and in turn for pension.” The court passed this judgment on a petition filed by Sheela Devi alleging that her late husband was appointed as Ayurvedic doctor on a contract basis in temporary capacity in 1999. However, his services were regularised in 2009 and he expired on January 23, 2011. The request made by her for the release of pension had been turned down on June 18, 2018, on the ground that the services rendered by the husband of the applicant on a contract basis could not be counted for pensionary benefits under CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, as the same are applicable only to regular employees appointed in the pensionable establishments in the government departments on or before May 14, 2003.
Allowing the petition, the Bench observed, “The classification cannot be done on the irrational basis and when the state authorities are themselves counting period spent in such service, it will be highly discriminatory not to count the service on the basis of flimsy classification. As it would rather be unjust, illegal and impermissible to make the classification under the Pension Rules.”
The court further directed the state to pay the admissible benefits to the petitioner within three months. — OC
