GIRIJA RAJARAM Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS petitioner is a senior scientist with a distinguished record spanning four decades of experience in the Space and Earth Sciences. Her claim is simple enough: pension for about 19 years of service rendered by the petitioner, between May, 1977 and September, 1985 as reader; 15th March, 1990 to 15th March, 1992 as Visiting Scientist and 1st April, 1992 to 28th February, 2001 as Associate Professor and Professor. The petitioner claims an addition of five years to her qualifying service under Rule 30 of the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules. The respondents have denied to the petitioner the benefit of service rendered from 1977 to 1985 and from 1990 to 1992. The petitioner was informed that her service between 1992 and 2001 is 8 years and 11 months, which disentitles her to the benefit of pension on the ground that she does not have 10 years of qualifying service.

(2.) THE petitioner completed her B.Sc., in the first class in 1957, an M.Sc., again in the first class, in 1962 from Delhi University and a Ph.D., in Space Physics in 1972 from the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad. The petitioner pursued a course of Doctoral Research at the University of Tokyo in Japan during 1973 -74. In May 1977, the petitioner was employed by the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) as a reader at the age of 36. The petitioner worked in the areas of Geomagnetism and Plasmaphere and was a nominated member of the Indian National Science Academy and of the International Union for Geomagnetism and Geodesy. She had inter alia guided M.Sc. and Ph.D. students in the course of their research in 1983.

(3.) THE Director of IIG received a letter dated 9th August, 1983 from a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada inviting the petitioner to study and pursue research with the Space Science Group on Geomagnetism initially for a period of one year. The letter was handed over to the petitioner by the Director on 7th September, 1983. The petitioner applied for extra ordinary study leave without pay on 7th September, 1983 under Rule 14 of the Rules and Regulations governing IIG which provides as follows: