SURJIT KUMAR SHARMA Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner, a teacher in the "vacation Department" of the State of Punjab, when retired from service had 367 days' "half pay leave" to his credit. In the matter of service including grant of leave, the petitioner is governed by the Punjab Civil Service Rules, (for short 'the Rules') as amended from time to time. His claim is that the Rules entitle a retiring government servant to leave to the maximum of 240 days, which can be encashed. Since his alleged claim for encashment of leave to the extent due to him has been denied, he filed the present petition for a direction to the State Government to allow him the benefit of encashment of leave due to him as aforesaid. When the matter came up for hearing before the motion Bench, the petitioner's learned counsel placed reliance on the decision of a learned Single Judge of this Court in Mohni Sadana v. State of Punjab, 1990 (2) S. L. R. 297. The view taken in Mohn Sadane's case (supra) is that a teacher in the Education Department of the State of Punjab on his/her retirement is entitle to the benefit of leave encashment if any such leave is due to his/her credit to the maximum of 240 days. Counsel for the State of Punjab before the motion Bench doubted the correctness of the decision in Mohni Sadana's case (supra ). The motion Bench then admitted the petition and recommended that the question involved be decided by the Full Bench. This is how the matter has come to be heard by us.

(2.) IT may be mentioned that a Letters Patent Appeal taken against the decision of Mohni Sadana's case (supra) was dismissed in limine by this Court without any decision on merit. We are also told that a Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court has also been dismissed in the like manner.

(3.) THE Punjab Government vide Finance Department Circular Letter No. 240-GOL 4fr-12523 dated January 25, 1978, decided in line of the decision taken by the Government of India that the Punjab Government employees retiring on superannuation on or after 31st January, 1978, will be paid in cash equivalent of leave salary in respect of the period of earned leave at their credit at the time of retirement This was termed as a concession and is subjected to certain conditions with which we are not concerned For the purposes of grant of leave and leave salary, the Punjab Government has categorised the government employees, other than those engaged on contract or those for whom special provisions relating to leave have been made, in two categories. In the second category (with which we are concerned), fall government employees who are subject to Punjab Revised Leave Rules, 1936 and who enter or have entered or are, or have been re-employed in Government Service, whether in permanent or other capacity, on or after 1st January, 1931. Revised Leave Rules, applicable to Government employees falling under this category are contained in Section III of the Punjab Civil Service Rules, Volume I, Part I, at page 151 onwards of its 1984 Edition. Rule 8. 113 defines "leave", "earned leave, and "half pay leave" While leave includes earned leave and leave on half pay, earned leave is defined to mean leave earned in respect of periods spent on duty while half pay leave is defined as leave earned in respect of completed years of service. Rule 8. 116 prescribes the extent of earned leave admissible to a government employee in permanent employment shall be l/24th of the period spent on duty during the first ten years of service and 1/18th of the period spent on duty dring the next ten years of service, and l/2th of the period spent on duty thereafter. According to Rule 8. 119, half pay leave "admissible to an officer in permanent employment has a relation to the completed years of service, which is significantly different from the earned leave admissible to a government employee which is correlated to the period spent on duty. Pointed attention must be drawn to Rule 8. 117 It reads as follows :