MURARILAL SHARMA Vs. STATE AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The case of the petitioner in short is that he was appointed as General Teacher in the services of Directorate of Primary & Secondary Education, Govt. of Rajasthan, Bikaner w.e.f. 5.2.1955. After having rendered about 20 years of qualifying service, the request for voluntary retirement from service was made by the petitioner to the Department which was accepted as per the requirements laid down under Sec. 244(1) of the RSR, 1951 which gives an option to a Govt servant to exercise his option of seeking voluntary retirement by giving at least three months notice to the appointment authority and the date of retirement from service shall be reckoned w.e.f. the date on which he completes 20 years of qualifying service on attaining the age of superannuation i.e. 45 years whichever is earlier or any date thereafter to be specified in the notice. This option may be withheld by the appointing authority in case of Govt. servant who is (i) under suspension; (ii) in whose case disciplinary proceedings are pending or contemplated for the imposition of a major penalty and the disciplinary authority having regard to the circumstances of the case is of the view that such disciplinary proceedings might result in imposition of the penalty of removal or dismissal from service; in whose case prosecution is contemplated or may have been in a court of law.

(2.) As regards the benefit of 5 years notional qualifying service as mentioned in clause (vi) of Rule 244 RSR this clause shall not be applicable to a Government servant who has retired under sub-rule (2) of this Rule. That is to say that those Govt. servants who are made to compulsorily retire by the department after completion of 25 years of service, only they are entitled to claim notional benefit of 5 years which is not the position in the instant case. The law mandates computing of service for extending benefit of notional qualifying service also to those govt. servants who have opted for voluntary retirement after completion of 20 years of qualifying service which in the instant case as it appears from the documents on record and also the statement made by the learned counsel for the respondent has already been extended to the petitioner as per the order of the State Govt. dated 26.9.2002 vide Annexure R/2.

(3.) Vide order dated 27.8.2002, this Court after hearing learned counsel for the petitioner at admission stage had issued show cause notice to the respondents by directing the petitioner to submit a representation in respect of the relief sought for by him to the Chief Secretary, Govt. of Raj. who in turn was directed to forward the petitioner's representation to the concerned functionary of the Education Department of the State Govt. with a direction to decide the petitioner's representation after giving full opportunity of hearing to the petitioner in accordance with law within a period of one month from the said date. This Court further directed that its only after the representation has been decided by the concerned authority as per the directions given by this Court, this writ petition shall be heard and finally decided by this Court. Accordingly, the matter has come up today for final hearing and the same is now being disposed of finally by this order.