AVTAR SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) (Oral) - Prayer in the present petition, filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, is for issuance of directions to the respondents to grant all the pensionary benefits to the petitioner for the service rendered by him in Zila Parishad, Amritsar from 24.07.57 to 18.11.76 including interest @18% PA.

(2.) The fact in brief leading to the filing of the present petition are that on 24.07.57 the petitioner joined as Road Inspector in Zila Parishad, Amritsar-respondent No.3. The department of Zila Parishad was taken over by the State Government and services of the petitioner were provincialised in the PWD (B&R) Department. Accordingly the petitioner was transferred from Zila Parishad to PWD (B&R) and joined the respondent's department on 18.11.76 on the same post i.e. Junior Engineer in the same pay scale and retired on 31.03.93. The petitioner has been allowed pension only for the period from 18.11.76 to 31.03.93, without considering the service rendered by him with the respondent No.3 from 24.07.57 to 17.11.76. Feeling aggrieved, the petitioner made several representations and served a legal notice dated 11.11.94 (Annexure P-1) upon the respondents. In response to this notice, the respondent No.2 intimated vide letter dated 09.01.95 that the petitioner is not entitled for the pensionary benefits of the service rendered by him with the respondent No.3.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner contends that the similarly situated persons i.e. employees of Zila Parishad, namely Sh. Sat Pal, Sh. Laxman Singh, Sh. Hanso and Sh. Raghbir Singh, whose services were taken over by the State Govt. have been given the benefits of service rendered by them to respondent No.3-Zila Parishad for the purpose of fixation of pension and other retiral benefits by the respondent State. The fact that similar benefit has been allowed to the other employees is not disputed. He refers to the judgments i.e. Vijay Laxmi Vs. State of Punjab 1994(2) SCT 85 , Ram Chander Vs. State of Haryana (1999) ILR (2) Punjab and Haryana 141 , Gita Ram Vs. State of Haryana 1990 (2) RSJ 619 & Rati Ram Vs. State of Haryana 1995(4) SCT 491 (DB).