YOGESH SHAH Vs. PRINCIPAL SECRETARY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking quashment of the orders Annexure P/7 and P/8 by which the application of the petitioner for voluntary retirement as per the unamended Rule of 42-A of M.P. Civil Services Pension Rules, 1976 (hereinafter referred as Pension Rules) prevailing at the time of the submission of the application has been rejected and the same has been communicated by letter dtd. 9/2/2012.

(2.) Draped in brevity the facts of the case are that the petitioner was appointed on 17/12/1985 to the post of Assistant Surgeon/Insurance Health Officer in Directorate Employee State Insurance Services on an ad-hoc basis. The services of the petitioner were regularised for the post of Assistant Surgeon/Insurance Health Officer vide order dtd. 26/6/1987. The petitioner submitted an application for voluntary retirement and served a notice in Form 28 both on 21/3/2006.

(3.) On 7/4/2006 Rule 42 and 42-A of the Pension Rules were amended and as per Rule 42(1)(a) the minimum qualifying service for seeking voluntary retirement was raised from 15 years to 20 years. Further Rule 42-A was amended and earlier the qualifying service was increased with such period that would take an employee to the date of superannuation subject to a capping that the total service does not exceed 33 years. However, after the amendment dtd. 7/4/2006, as per Rule 42-A, a period of up to 5 years could only be added in the qualifying service, with a capping that the total service does not exceed 33 years. A formal order was issued accepting the application for voluntary retirement of the petitioner vide Annexure P/4 dtd. 6/7/2006 though no such formal order of acceptance was required to be passed under Rule 42 of Pension Rules. The Pension Payment Order (PPO) of the petitioner was prepared in 2009 where the total qualifying service of the petitioner was taken as 20 years 4 months and 5 days in contravention of Rule 42-A of the Pension Rules existing at the time of submission of application for voluntary retirement and issuance of notice Form 28.