STATE OF WEST BENGAL Vs. AJOY KUMAR BHOWMICK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) From 20/11/1969 to 8/2/1982 the first respondent/writ petitioner (hereinafter referred to as 'the respondent ') taught chemistry as an assistant teacher in three aided schools. From 20/11/1969 to 20/4/1973 he taught in Rajballavpur Rangilabad Ramlal Memorial High School, from 21/4/1973 to 6/7/1981 in Shirakole Yudhisthir Nanilal High School and from 7/7/1981 to 8/12/1982 in Bratachari Vidyasram. Out of these three schools the last one Bratachari Vidyasram is an aided higher secondary school. On 9/2/1982, he joined St. Lawrence High School, Kolkata, an unaided but government DA getting school as an assistant teacher and continued to teach there till 31/3/2005. He left that school and joined an aided high school, Sonamukhi Janakalyan Vidyapith as Headmaster from 1/4/2005 and continued to teach there till 31/1/2009.

(2.) Although the service rendered in the aided schools is qualifying service in terms of the length of service rendered, which should be atleast ten years, for the purpose of receiving pension, the appellant refused to recognise the respondent as eligible for pension. According to them by working in an unaided school St. Lawrence High School from 9/2/1982 to 31/3/2005, there had been a break in the respondent 's service and that by operation of some decisions of the government embodied in memoranda discussed below, the respondent was ineligible for pension.

(3.) By a memorandum dtd. 15/5/1985 it was provided that death cum retirement benefits would be paid to, inter alia, aided educational institutions, excluding DA getting schools according to a scheme which was annexed to it. On 20/5/1988, a further memorandum was issued by the appellant to add to and qualify the 1985 notification. It was to the effect that the service rendered by, inter alia, a teaching employee in an unaided institution would be counted towards pensionable service provided he retired from an aided institution. In a complete turnaround another notification, described as a clarification was sought to be published by the appellant on 19/4/2006 to the effect that if a teacher served in an aided school followed by service in a DA getting school and thereafter retired from an aided school his service in the aided school prior to his service in the DA getting school would not be counted for pensionary benefits due to "break in service ".