STATE OF KERALA Vs. R.RADHAKRISHNAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This O.P(KAT) is filed by the State of Kerala, aggrieved by the order dtd. 22/12/2022 in O.A.(EKM) No.1005/2020 of the Kerala Administrative Tribunal, Thiruvananthapuram. The petitioners are the respondents in the Original Application and the respondent is the applicant.

(2.) The issue for consideration is regarding the calculation of the length of qualifying service and the interpretation of the term "Month" in sub-rule 21 of Rule 12 of the Kerala Service Rules (for short 'the K.S.R').

(3.) The brief facts of the case are as follows:- The respondent/applicant served in Government service from 9/11/1990 to 30/4/2019 and retired from the Law Department as Deputy Secretary on 30/4/2019. Pensionary benefits were granted to him counting his total service as 28 years, 5 months, and 22 days, which was rounded off to 28 years. The claim of the respondent is that an additional one day accrued during each of the seven leap years should be included in calculating his eligible service. Furthermore, he contends that, following the method of considering completed calendar years of service, the number of days in each month should be taken into account, with an extra day for each leap year, to determine the fraction of the year, whether it is less than half a year or above half a year. Therefore, according to him, he has eligible service of 28 years and six months, which as per the provisions of KSR will get rounded off to 29 years which will have a significant impact on his retirement benefits.