STATE OF KERALA Vs. RAVEENDRAN PILLAI S.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment dtd. 28/2/2022 in W.P.(C) No.18584 of 2021. Respondents 1, 2, 4 and 5 in the writ petition are the appellants. Parties and documents are referred to in this judgment for convenience, as they appear in the writ petition.

(2.) The petitioner was appointed as Full Time Menial in an aided school namely, Karavaram Vocational Higher Secondary School (the School) on 22/8/1987. He was thrown out from service on 15/7/1990 for want of requisite students' strength. Though the petitioner was reappointed in a few leave vacancies in the School thereafter and he had worked in such vacancies, he was appointed in a substantive vacancy in the School only on 1/12/2000. The petitioner retired from service thereafter on 30/4/2021. In Ext.P8 verification report issued by the office of the Accountant General (A&E) in connection with the sanctioning of pensionary benefits to the petitioner, the qualifying service of the petitioner was shown only as 23 years, excluding the interruptions and the service rendered in leave vacancies. According to the petitioner, the interruptions and the service rendered by him in leave vacancies are also liable to be reckoned as qualifying service for grant of pensionary benefits. It is stated by the petitioner that if the said periods are also reckoned, his qualifying service for pension would be 30 years 11 months and 14 days. The writ petition, in the circumstances, was instituted challenging Ext.P8 verification report insofar as it limits his qualifying service for pension to 23 years, and seeking a declaration that his qualifying service for pension would be 30 years 11 months and 14 days.

(3.) A counter affidavit was filed in the writ petition on behalf of the State mainly contending that in light of the amendments made to Rule 14E(a) of Part III of the Kerala Service Rules (KSR) in terms of G.O.(P) No.128/2018/Fin dtd. 10/8/2018 and G.O.(MS) No.401/2019/Fin dtd. 28/10/2019, the interruptions and the service rendered by the petitioner in leave vacancies are not liable to be reckoned as qualifying service for pension.