DILIP KUMAR MUKHERJEE Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) EMPLOYMENT in a private jute mill, which in course of nationalization, was taken over by the Central Government and was later transferred to the National Jute Manufacturers Corporation Limited (hereafter referred to as 'the Corporation') proved to be highly profitable to the petitioner. It was only his last bluff, that did not succeed and he was, therefore, unable to have his tenure of service extended by two years and to derive further monetary benefit from the scheme of voluntary retirement introduced by the Corporation. He now seeks to realise, through the intervention of the writ Court, what he was unable to achieve on his own.

(2.) FOR a brief period from 15.7.98 to 21.3.2001, the age of superannuation for the employees Of the Corporation was raised from 58 to 60 years. It was during this period that the Corporation also introduced a scheme of voluntary retirement for its employees. On 22.2.99 the petitioner made an application for grant of voluntary retirement A copy of the petitioner's application is not on the record but if was evidently represented therein that his contract of Service was subsisting and he was yet to retire from the service of the Corporation. In response to his application, the petitioner received a communication, dated 7.7.99 issued by the Deputy Manager (Personnel) intimating that the competent authority in the Corporation had acceded to his request for retirement under the voluntary retirement scheme with effect from 15.7.99. It appears that later on in course of computation of his terminal benefits under the scheme, it transpired that at the time of entry into service the petitioner had given his date of birth as 10.1.39 which was entered in the relevant records. On that basis, he attired the age of 58 years in January, 1997, that is to say, long before the enhancement of the age of retirement with effect from 15.7.98 and the Introduction of the scheme of voluntary retirement. It was due to oversight that he was allowed to continue in service till the age of retirement was enhanced with effect from 15.7.99 and the scheme of voluntary retirement was introduced. According to the case of the respondent-authorities, it was after the enhancement of the age of retirement and the introduction of the V.R. scheme that an interpolation was made in the relevant records at the instance of the petitioner and he tried to take the benefit of the scheme on the basis of that interpolation.

(3.) BELOW the endorsement the writer put his initials and gave the date.