R L MARWAHA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The question involved in this case is whether an employee of an autonomous body established under the auspices of the Central Government is entitled to claim the benefit of the period of service rendered by him in a personable post under the Central government prior to his service being absorbed in the autonomous body for computing qualifying service for purposes of pension.

(2.) The petitioner R. L. Marwaha entered the service of the Central government on a temporary basis on October 4, 1950 and worked as an Upper Division Clerk in the pay scale of Rs. 80-5-120-8-200-10/ 2-220 in the office of the Settlement Commissioner (Claims Wing) under the Ministry of Rehabilitation, Union of India and he continued to hold that post up to November 23, 1953 (FN). He, having been appointed in the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (hereinafter referred to as 'the ICAR') , which is an autonomous body sponsored by the Central Government, to a higher post of Assistant in the scale of pay of Rs. 160-450 joined the service of the ICAR as a fresh entrant on the same date that is November 23, 1953 (FN). He was not allowed to carry forward the leave that he had earned and was declared quasi-permanent as an Assistant in the ICAR with effect from January 17, 1957. The post held by the petitioner under the central Government before he entered the service of the ICAR was a pensionable post and the post or posts held by him in the ICAR were also pensionable posts. The petitioner retired from the service of the ICAR on September 30, 1980 after attaining the age of superannuation, i. e. , 58 years. On retirement the petitioner was accorded pensionary benefits reckoning his qualifying service from November 23, 1953 to September 30, 1980. The petitioner, as some others who had also retired from the service of the ICAR had been agitating before the authorities to count the period of service put in by him between October 4, 1950 and November 23, 1953 in the Central government as part of the qualifying service and to compute his pensionary benefits on that basis. The petitioner had applied to the icar even before his retirement requesting it to count his service in the Central Government as part of his qualifying service for pension. The petitioner received a reply from the ICAR staling that according to the then existing policy the. government had not accepted any pensionary liability in cases like that of the petitioner and that there were no rules authorising the ICAR to accept the charge of pensionary liability in respect of the period of his service rendered in the Central government.

(3.) Under the orders which were in force in 1984 the position as regards counting of service rendered elsewhere was as follows: (i) Service rendered outside Central Government did not count for pension in Central Government. (ii) In the case of scientific employees of autonomous bodies financed or controlled by the government, however, such employees were allowed to count their previous service in such autonomous bodies on permanent absorption under the central Government subject to certain conditions. (iii) In respect of personnel other than scientific employees who were permanent in Central Government in the event of their subsequent permanent absorption in public sector undertakings or any autonomous body proportionate retirement benefits for the service rendered in government till the date of permanent absorption were allowed as per rules in force at the time of absorption. (iv) No such benefit as provided in para (iii) above was allowed to temporary employees going over to autonomous bodies or undertakings.