EX SEPOY PREM SINGH Vs. UOI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE short question that falls for consideration in all these writ petitions is whether the petitioners are entitled to claim pension on a pro-rata basis even when they do not qualify for grant of service pension under the Rules regulating their service conditions. The question is no longer res integra in the light of four division bench decisions rendered by this Court holding that the Pension Regulations for the Army do not envisage grant of pro-rata pension to those who have not rendered qualifying years of service. Before we refer to the said decisions we may extract Regulation 132 of the Pension Regulations for the Army for ready reference:

(2.) A plain reading of the above provision would leave no manner of doubt that pension rules applicable to those serving in the Indian Army and governed by the aforementioned Regulations can claim service pension as a matter of right only if they have rendered qualifying service of 15 years in that Force. Neither Regulation 132 extracted above nor any other provisions contained in the regulations for the Army envisage or provide for grant of pro-rata pension to those who have not rendered the qualifying years of service. Learned counsel for the petitioners were also unable to refer to us any such provision in support of their contention that pro-rata pension was legally admissible to the petitioners or any one of them. That appears to be the position even according to the decisions of this Court to which we may be briefly referred at the stage. In Mahinder Singh (Ex-Sep.) Vs. Union of India and Ors. 2001 VI AD (Delhi) 774 dr. Mukandakam Sharma,j, as his lordship then was, had an occasion to examine whether the Pension Regulations for the Army, 1961 envisage grant of pro-rata pension. Repelling the contention that pro-rata pension could be granted to the petitioner by reference to Rule 49 of CCS (Pension) Rules and de hors the pension regulations applicable to the Army, the Court observed:

(3.) A similar issue arose before a Division Bench of this Court in Ram singh Yadav Vs. Union of India and Anr. 116 (2005) DLT 486 (DB ). Relying upon the decision in Mahinder Singh's case (supra) the Court declared that the pension Regulations for the Army do not provide for grant of pro-rata pension to those who do not have qualifying service to their credit. The Court observed: