SHAKUNTALA DEVI Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN both the writ petitions, grievance of the petitioners is with respect to non payment of Contributory Provident Fund, hereinafter called as CPF, and also with respect to non -grant of pension and gratuity benefits to them.

(2.) IN the first case, petitioner no. 1 joined the service on 10.2.1960 and retired from the post of Mukhaya Sevika, Family and Child Welfare Project under the Bihar State Social Welfare Advisory Board, here in after called as 'State Board ', on 31.6.1998 and petitioner no.2 was appointed as Accountant in Welfare Extension Project and is presently working in the said capacity at Jehanabad and is to retired from service on 31.5.2002. In the second case, the sole petitioner joined the service and later on promotion to the post of Accountant finally retired on 30th November, 1991 from the Family and Child Welfare Project, Udwantnagar, Bhojpur under the State Board. As the petitioners have been kept denied of the aforementioned benefits they have filed the present writ petitions raising the abovementioned grievance.

(3.) BIHAR State Social Welfare Advisory Board was set up in Bihar, Patna in 1954 with a view to ensure proper co -ordination between the social welfare Organisations in Bihar and also for a wider coverage and extensive study of the working of such Institutions and supervision of their programmes and activities. The State Board started 35 Welfare Extension Projects in different backward Blocks in Bihar and required posts were sanctioned for smooth functioning of the Projects. The Central Social Welfare, Board, hereinafter called as 'Central Board ', framed Rules for all State Social Welfare Advisory Boards and according to it the employees were to be governed by the respective State Government Rules up to the extent of appointment and other administrative matters. The Government of Bihar introduced the scheme for CPF for staff of the State Board vide its letter no. 9874 dated 10.12.1970 (Annexure -2 to the writ petition). The State Board, however, implemented the said scheme for headquarter 's employees and not with respect to the said project employees. In the year 1979, Government of India through the Central Social Welfare Board decided to extend the facility of pension and gratuity scheme to the Board 's employees if the concerned State Government agreed to bear 50% share of the cost involved for the said purpose. As the facility of pension/gratuity scheme is not available to the employees of the other Boards and Corporations in Bihar, the State Government did not agree to the said proposal of the Board to extent the facility to the employees of the State Board.