KOCHU KUNJU Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in all these cases were admittedly in contingent service as on the 7th of April, 1970. Some of them were in contingent service on part-time basis and others were in contingent service on full-time basis on the said date. Subsequently, their services were regularised by the Government by its order No. G.O. (P) 133/71/Fin. dated 26-3-1971 with effect from 1-4-1971. When they were sought to be retired from service on attaining the age of superannuation of fifty-five years, they have come to this court with the respective Original Petitions under Art.226 of the Constitution of India for a direction to the respondents not to retire them from service on attaining the age of 55 years on the ground that they are entitled to remain in service until they complete 60 years of age, they not having attained the age of 60 years. This claim is made by them on the ground that clause (b) of R.60 of Part I of the Kerala Service Rules, hereinafter referred to as the Rules, is applicable to them. The stand taken on behalf of the respondents on the other hand is that they are governed by clause (a) of R.60 and therefore they are liable to retire on attaining the age of 55 years. The principal question for examination therefore is as to whether the petitioners who were in contingent service, either as part-time or full-time, on the 7th of April 1970 are governed by clause (b) of R.60 of Part I of the Rules, after their services stood regularised from the 1st of April 1971.

(2.) R.60 of Part I of the Rules prescribes the age of superannuation describing as compulsory retirement, and the same for convenience is extracted as below:-

(3.) The petitioners' service having been regularised with effect from 1-4-1971, it is not disputed that the rules became applicable to them with effect from the said date. It is also not disputed that from that date they were serving in pensionable posts. If on the 7th of April, 1970 the petitioners were governed by the Rules, which prescribed the higher age of 60 years as the age of superannuation, their right to continue in service till they attain the age of 60 years stands protected by clause (b) of R.60, as long at they continue to be in the Last Grade Service. Hence, we have to examine as to whether the petitioners who were in Last Grade Service on the 7th of April, 1970 were governed by the then existing provisions fixing the higher age of retirement of 60 years. This takes us to the examination of the relevant rules by which persons like the petitioners who were in contingent service were governed by the rules as on 7th of April, 1970. It is clear from Rule i of Part I of the Rules that Parts I and II are deemed to have come into force with effect from 1st November, 1959 and those in Part III are deemed to have come into force from the 1st November, 1956. R.2 and 3 of Part I of the Rules, which are relevant for our purpose, may be extracted as follows:-