ALKA BAKSHI Vs. STATE AND ORS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Impugned in this petition is a communication No. Adm/TW/17/589-94 dated 22.02.2017 issued by respondent No.4 whereby the petitioner has been informed that an addition in qualifying service claimed by the petitioner is not permissible in her case and the same is permissible only in those cases in which the employee proceeding on voluntary retirement does not have the requisite qualifying service for claiming maximum pension.

(2.) Briefly stated, the facts of the case are that the petitioner who was working as Professor of English in the Directorate of Distance Education, University of Jammu applied for voluntary retirement in the year 2012 with the proposed date of retirement as 01.05.201 The request of the petitioner was approved by the competent authority for voluntary retirement w.e.f 01.05.201 With the retirement of the petitioner, her pensionary benefits were also sanctioned. The petitioner noticed anomaly in the calculation of her pensionary benefits and approached respondent No.3 by way of representation. The matter was taken up by the University of Jammu with the Financial Advisor, J & K Universities (Finance Department, J & K Government). The Principal Secretary to Government, Finance Department, who is ex-officio Financial Advisor, Universities, vide his communication No. FA/JU/162com/2014/170 dated 03.02017 rejected the request of the petitioner for adding five years in her qualifying service for the purposes of calculating the pensionary benefits on the ground that as per Article 230 of J & K Civil Service Regulations, 1956, the benefit was admissible only in those cases in which the employee proceeding on voluntary retirement is found lacking requisite service qualifying for maximum pension. On the basis of the opinion tendered by the Financial Advisor, Universities, the impugned communication was issued by the University of Jammu.

(3.) I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.