SHANKAR JAYARAM Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ORIGINAL petitioners in this petition were two (1) Shankar Jayaram Ambardekar in his individual capacity and (2) Nagpur District Pensioners' Association, Nagpur, through its Honorary Secretary Mr. R. N. Gadre. After the petition was admitted the petitioners were equired to give the names of the pensioners of the petitioner No. 2 Association who had retired prior to 1-11-1956, but in spite of several opportunities being given, no names were supplied and the orders passed by this Court from time to time were not complied with. We are, therefore, not required to consider in this petition the case of those pensioners said to have been represented by the petitioner No. 2 and the decision of this case will be confined only so far as the petitioner No. 1 Shankar Jayaram Ambardekar is concerned.

(2.) THE petitioner No. 1 in the original petition will hereinafter be described as the petitioner only. The petitioner was employed in the year 1912 as an Overseer in the Agricultural Department as a probationer in the then Central Provinces. He was then transferred as probationer to Hoshangabad and thereafter to Seoni as an Agricultural Assistant and was confirmed as an Agricultural Assistant in the year 1930. The Central Provinces and Berar was thereafter named as Madhya Pradesh and the petitioner continued in the service of the State of Madhya Pradesh, as it then was as an Agricultural Assistant. He retired on 31-10-1939 while he was serving at Uniri in tahsil Bhainsdehi of Betul district in the then State of Madhya Pradesh. At the time of his retirement the last pay drawn by him was Rs. 190 per month and his pension, therefore, came to Rs. 95 per month. Out of his pension, an amount of Rs. 23-75 was commuted on 23rd of December 1942 since when he has been getting Rs. 71. 25 P. per month towards his pension. The former State of Madhya Pradesh had granted an increase of Rs. 6 per month to the pensioners prior to 31-10-1956 as a temporary grant which, however, seems to be continued even now. With this increase the petitioner was getting Rs. 77. 25 P. per month towards his pension after commutation on 1st of November 1956. As from 1st of November 1956, there was reorganisation of States and some portions of the former Madhya Pradesh were added to the former State of Bombay and the new State of Madhya Pradesh was formed of the remaining districts excluding those which were included in the Bombay State and adding to it the State of Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh and other portions. There was a second reorganisation in the year 1960 and from 1st of May 1960 the present State of Maharashtra has been constituted.

(3.) THE petitioner has been residing at Nagpur and has been drawing his pension from the Nagpur District Treasury. The case of the pensioners has been under consideration of the State Governments, both Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and both the Governments from time to time granted certain increases in the pension of the pensioners on different occasions. So far as the Maharashtra Government is concerned by the Government Resolution No. TIP-1063/ 9611-X, dated 13th April 1964, the pension of the pensioners of two categories was in- creased. The pensioners whose monthly pension did not exceed Rs. 60 were given an additional temporary increase per month of 10 per cent, or the basic pension and existing temporary increase together; whereas the pensioners whose pension exceeded Rs. 60 but did not exceed Rs. 65. 50 were given an increase of Rs. 6 or such increase as will bring the total pension (including present temporary increase) upto Rs. 71. 50 P. These orders were made applicable to pensioners drawing pensions granted by the former Madhya Pradesh State which were drawn from treasuries in former Bilingual Bombay State on 1st November 1956 and from treasuries in Maharashtra State on 1st May 1960 and some other categories. However, the pension of the petitioners being more than Rs. 65. 50 per month, the petitioner did not get any advantage from this resolution.