STATE OF ODISHA AND OTHERS Vs. NIRANJAN BISWAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The State of Odisha in Panchayati Raj Department along with its functionaries, being the petitioners have assailed the order dated 17.02.2016 passed by the Odisha Administrative Tribunal, Cuttack Bench, Cuttack in O.A. No. 4396 (C) of 2010 wherein the present petitioners were directed to consider the grievances of the applicants for grant of minimum pension by adding so much period of service from G.P. Secretary service with their regular service as Village Level Workers to make them eligible to get minimum pension and accordingly to pay them minimum pension admissible from time to time from the date of their retirement.

(2.) The short fact of the case as delineated in the writ petition tends to reveal that the present opposite party was initially joined as Grama Panchayat Secretary on 05.09.1974. While he was so continuing, pursuant to the resolution of the Panchayat Raj Department dated 31.03.2008 and 07.02009 he was promoted to the post of Village Level Worker ('V.L.W.' in short) by order dated 28.05.2009. While working as V.L.W., he retired from Government service on 31.08.2010 on attaining the age of superannuation. After his retirement, however, his case was not considered to get pension and other retiral benefits on the plea that the service rendered by him as Gram Panchayat Secretary prior to promotion as V.L.W. is not a civil post and thereby he had not completed the minimum qualifying period of 10 years of service to get the pension and retiral benefits. Thus, the present opposite filed O.A. No. 4396 (C) of 2010 for a direction to the present petitioners to grant minimum pension in faovur of the applicant by taking into account of his past service rendered by him in the post of Gram Panchayat Secretary prior to his appointment as V.L.W. to the extent of short fall in accordance with the OCS (Pension) Rules, 199 He further prayed to release all consequential and financial service benefits in favour of the applicant accordingly. Similarly situated other employees have also filed number of Original Applications with the self same prayer. All such Original Applications were taken up together and disposed of by the common impugned order dated 17.02016.

(3.) Learned Additional Government Advocate for the petitioners submitted that the post hold by the applicant as Gram Panchayat Secretary was not a civil post. The said service was controlled under Gram Panchayat Act and Rules. Whereas the post of V.L.W., which is a civil post was controlled by Orissa Village Level Workers (Recruitment and Conditions of Service) Rules, 2008. According to him the post of Gram Panchayat Secretary is not a pensionable post under the Orissa Civil Service (Pension) Rules, 1992. In support of his contentions, he drew our attention of the said rule to the following extent:-