GOPAL KRISHNA JHA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition under Article 226 of the Constitution is filed by one Gopal Krishna Jha, a retired Judicial Officer. The petitioner, a practicing Advocate, joined the legal profession in 1979. After due selection process, on 3rd June 1997 he joined the superior judicial service in the State of Bihar as an Additional District and Sessions Judge. On reaching the age of superannuation the petitioner retired from service on 31st March 2011. Since his retirement, he has filed this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution for a direction to the State Government to make necessary amendment to the rules so as to allow some additional benefit to the pensionable service to the retired judicial officers. Petition is filed pursuant to the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the matter of Government of N.C.T. of Delhi & Ors Vs. All India Young Lawyers Association (Registered) & Anr., 2009 14 SCC 49.

(2.) In the above matter the officers in the Delhi Higher Judicial Service claimed the benefit of addition in pensionable service for the purposes of pension and terminal benefit on the premise that before joining the judicial service they had practiced as a lawyer and that duration of the practice should be counted as pensionable service. In absence of any rule to support the claim the Hon'ble Court held, "We deem it appropriate that 10 years' practice at the Bar or such other number of years, whichever is less, could be added while computing pension and other retiral benefits in the case of a direct recruit to the Delhi Higher Judicial Service."

(3.) In answer to the petition the Government of Bihar has appeared and contested the petition. According to the Government of Bihar, pursuant to the recommendations made by Padmanabhan Committee and the observations made by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the above judgment, the Government of Bihar has resolved to reduce the minimum qualifying service for full pension from 33 years to that of 20 years in case of judicial officers of the State of Bihar.