PRINCIPAL SECRETARY Vs. K. LAKSHMANAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) We have expressed reservations in entertaining the petitions of the present nature filed by the Principal Secretary and other officers of the School Education Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu, seeking to question the just and well-considered orders passed by the Division Bench of the High Court, allowing pensionary rights to the respondent No. 1 and rejecting the review petition.

(2.) It is noticed that the respondent No. 1 was engaged as Sweeper-cum-Sanitary Worker as back as in the year 1992 on a consolidated pay of Rs.105.00 p.m. Later on, pursuant to the directions of the High Court in a writ petition filed by the respondent No. 1 bearing No. 12762 of 2010, his services were regularized with effect from 2/12/2002. He attained the age of superannuation on 30/6/2012. He applied for pension by taking into account 50% of his service before regularization. On being denied pension, the respondent No. 1 filed another writ petition bearing No. 10746 of 2015 wherein, by an order dtd. 5/1/2017, learned Single Judge of the High Court directed the present petitioners to sanction pensionary benefits by taking into account 50% of the service rendered by the respondent No. 1 from 1/12/1992 to 2/12/2002 alongwith his regular service from 2/12/2002 to 30/6/2012. Challenged by the present petitioners to the order so passed by the learned Single Judge came to be rejected by the Division Bench of the High Court by its impugned order dtd. 13/3/2020 with directions to the petitioners to disburse pensionary benefits to the respondent No. 1 within eight weeks. The baseless review petition filed by the present petitioners was also dismissed by the Division Bench of the High Court on 2/3/2022. Thus, in the present case relating to pensionary benefits of the respondent No. 1, who had rendered his services as Sweeper-cum-Sanitary Worker and who superannuated on 30/6/2012, have gone through several stages of litigation including the writ petitions, intra-court appeal and even a review petition.

(3.) The present petition seeking special leave to appeal against the order passed by the Division Bench of High Court way back on 13/3/2020 in the intra-Court appeal is delayed by a period of 156 days (after exclusion of Covid-19 period). As noticed, the petitioners even filed a review petition, which was dismissed on 2/3/2022 and the petition seeking special leave to appeal against that order is also delayed by a period of 154 days.