AMI CHAND Vs. UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this petition the petitioner is seeking direction to the respondents to count his service from 22.11.1965 to 31.05.1967 for the purpose of pension and gratuity etc.

(2.) The case of the petitioner was that he joined as MT/Driver in General Reserve Engineers Force (GREF) on 22.11.1965 and was allotted GREF No.95034. Due to reduction in Establishment the petitioner was declared surplus and his services were terminated w.e.f. 31.05.1967 and a discharge certificate to this effect was issued. He was recalled for appointment by the respondent-department and appointed as MT/Driver on 09.10.1967. He was confirmed w.e.f. 01.05.1981, however, the said confirmation was never conveyed to the petitioner. When he came to know about the confirmation he immediately applied for counting of his previous service from 22.11.1965 to 31.05.1967. Thereafter the petitioner represented to the respondent-department on various occasions but to no avail and at last the same has been rejected on the ground that since the service documents of the petitioner regarding previous spell of his service have been destroyed, the said period cannot be counted with the present period of service.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner has argued that the respondents are under legal obligation to count the previous service of the petitioner under Rule 19(1)(b) of the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 as has been done in the case of many other similarly situated persons. Rule 19(1)(b) of the CCS(Pension) Rules is as under:-