RAMA NARAYAN PADHY Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has filed this writ application, inter alia, with the following prayers :

(2.) THE brief facts as delineated in the writ application tend to reveal as follows : The petitioner after acquiring Bachelor Degree in Arts and Diploma in Education joined as Assistant Teacher in George V High School, presently known as Badakhemundi High School, at Digapahandi on 12.7.1945. Thereafter, on 3.7.1947, the petitioner was deputed for training to Radhanath Training College, Cuttack and after B.Ed. training, he was promoted as Headmaster of Badakhemundi High School vide order dated 26.6.1948. On 1.7.1958 the said High School was taken over by the Government and the petitioner continued as its Headmaster tilt 30.12.1963 and thereafter the petitioner joined the Board of Secondary Education, Orissa (hereinafter 'Board') on 31.12.1963 and promoted as the Deputy Secretary of the Board and continued as such till 30.9.1984 when he took voluntary retirement from service. According to the petitioner, initially the employees of the Board were covered under the contributory Provident Fund Scheme as enumerated in Chapter -XIII of the Orissa Secondary Education Act, 1953 as it stood then with its amendment. According to the petitioner, in terms of Chapter -XIII of the Orissa Secondary Education Act, 1953, on voluntary retirement of the petitioner, the total dues towards Provident Fund benefit was calculated by the Board and the petitioner was allowed to draw his own contribution along with employee's contribution standing at his credit. Thereafter, according to the petitioner, the Board of Secondary Education (Amendment) Regulations, 1997 came into force and in terms of the said amendment, every employee retiring on or after the 1st day of January, 1982 shall be entitled either to the benefit of the pension including commutation of pension, gratuity and family pension as applicable to the State Government employees under the provisions of the Orissa Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1992 and the Orissa Civil Services (Commutation of Pension) Rules, 1993 subject to the condition that in case of employees opting or deemed to have opted for the pension scheme, the amount contributed by the Board to their contributory Provident Fund together with interest accrued thereon till the date of their receiving pension shall be credited to the pension fund of the Board. The aforesaid Amended Regulations further provide that the pension scheme is to apply with effect from 1st day of January 1982. According to the petitioner, after the aforesaid amendment, the petitioner was served with a letter dated 29.7.1997, issued by the Secretary of the Board videAnnexure -1 indicating therein that the State Government have been pleased to approve the pension scheme in favour of the employees of the Board retiring on or after the 1st day of January, 1982, which was published in the extraordinary issue of the Orissa Gazette bearing No. 563 dated 7.5.1997 and came into force on the date of publication in the Orissa Gazette. In order to implement the aforesaid Scheme, the petitioner by Annexure -I was required to give option as per the enclosed pro forma in duplicate by 31.8.1997. On receipt of the aforesaid letter (Annexure -1), the petitioner submitted a representation, vide Annexure -2, giving his option as well as raising objection to the implementation of the Pension Scheme w.e.f. February, 1997 instead of 1.10.1984, and claimed that he is entitled to get the benefit of the Pension Scheme w.e.f. 1.10.1984. The petitioner also claimed in the said representation that he is entitled to the retrial benefits from 30.9.1984 when he retired from service and also alleged that he has not received an amount of Rs. 4,015.49 towards the Board's share of the Provident Fund lying with the State Bank of India. When no action was taken on Annexure -2, the petitioner submitted a representation to the Secretary to the Government, School & Mass Education Department, vide Annexure -3. According to the petitioner, as the Pension Scheme under Regulation 20 in Section IV of Chapter -XIII of the Board of Secondary Education, Orissa (Amendment) Regulations, 1997 was published on 7.5.1997 in the extraordinary issue of the Orissa Gazette and as the same came into force on 1st day of January 1982, there is no doubt that the Pension Scheme has come into effect w.e.f. 1.1.1982 and since the petitioner has retired from service in September 1984, he is entitled to get pension from 1.10.1984. As there was no response to the aforesaid representation, the petitioner made another representation vide Annexure -4. The Secretary of the Board, Opposite Party No. 2, by letter dated 6.4.1998 (Annexure -5) intimated the petitioner that the authorities of the Board after careful consideration decided that the conditional option of the petitioner for coming over to the Pension Scheme of the Board of Secondary Education claiming retrospective effect from the very date of the retirement of the petitioner was not acceptable in view of the notification of the Board published in the Orissa Gazette on 7.5.1997 indicating that the same would come into force from the date of publication in the aforesaid gazette. By the aforesaid communication, the petitioner was requested to submit his revised option in duplicate for coming over to the Pension Scheme w.e.f. 7.5.1997, within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the said letter, if so desired. The petitioner's case is that the rejection of his claim for pension w.e.f. 1.10.1984 is illegal, for which, he has filed this writ application with the prayers indicated in the foregoing paragraph.

(3.) THE learned counsel for the petitioner filed a rejoinder to the counter affidavit filed by the opposite parties saying that the petitioner is entitled to get the pension and other benefits from the date of his retirement, i.e., 1.10.1984. According to him, as per the Regulations, i.e., Board of Secondary Education (Amendment) Regulations 1997, he is eligible to get pension and other benefits from the date of his retirement, i.e., 1.10.1984 because Regulation 20(1) of the said Regulations enumerates that all retired employees are to be treated at par with retired Government servants and to be governed by the provisions of the Orissa Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1992 and the Orissa Civil Services (Commutation of Pension) Rules, 1993. Further, it is claimed that the petitioner is entitled to the benefits of total qualifying service of 39 years, instead of 20 years as wrongly taken by the Board, for which his basic pension requires to be re -fixed.