RATTAN SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a bunch of 53 writ petitions, out of which 47 petitions are listed after notice and 6 petitions, i.e. CWPs No. 8442, 8675, 9559, 10349, 10543 and 12177 of 2013 are in the urgent list, which have been preferred by retired Punjab Government employees who superannuated between 1.1.2006 to 30.11.2011 alleging discrimination vis-a-vis employees who have retired on or after 1.12.2011. This discrimination, according to them, was created due to issuance of a letter dated 15.12.2011 by the Punjab Government fixing 1.12.2011 as the effective date to implement the decision of the Government dispensing with the linkage of full pension with qualifying service of 33 years and reducing it to 25 years with further benefit that the pension shall be admissible equal to 50% of emoluments or average emoluments received during the last 10 months whichever is beneficial to the employee. At the request of the counsel for the parties, the writ petitions were clubbed and heard together and are being decided by a common order as similar questions of facts and law are involved in these cases.

(2.) BRIEFLY the facts are that all the petitioners in these writ petitions have retired as Punjab Government employees on attaining the age of superannuation on or after 1.1.2006, but on or before 30.11.2011. The services of the petitioners are governed by the Punjab Civil Services Rules. Pension is dealt with under Volume-II of these Rules. As per Rule 3.8 of the Punjab Civil Services Rules, Volume-II, service of every Government employee begins to qualify for pension when he takes charge of the post to which he was first appointed. Rule 6.1 lays down that the amount of pension to be granted is dependent upon the length of service as set-forth. In Rule 6.16, it is provided that the amount of superannuation, retiring, invalid and compensation, gratuity and pension would be as set-forth in the table provided therein. In short, pension of the employee was determined proportionate to the length of service rendered by him. The Rules provided and prescribed that a Government employee is entitled to maximum pension after rendering 33 years of qualifying service.

(3.) THE Fifth Pay Commission in its report in para-7.26, which deals with the effective date of pensionary benefits, recommended that all proposed increases in allowances and other benefits shall take effect from the date of notification by the Government, whereas the revised pensionary benefits (such as basic pension, commutation of pension, gratuity) should be from 1.1.2006 as in the case with the revised salary scales. Under the heading 'Major recommendations of the Commission relating to basic pension' in para-7.6, it was recommended that the pension should continue to be 50% of the basic pay (plus NPA) and should be calculated on the basis of last pay drawn or 10 months' average emoluments, whichever is beneficial to the employee. In para 7.7, which relates to qualifying service, Commission suggested that linking of full pension with 33 years of qualifying service should be dispensed with and full pension should be allowed once the Government employee has rendered minimum qualifying service of 20 years apart from other aspects which dealt with employees seeking voluntary retirement and the voluntary retirement scheme as recommended by the 6th Central Pay Commission.