AZIZ KHAN Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this writ petition filed under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India the Petitioner who is a retired police personnel from Government Railway Police (for short 'GRP'), Indore, has challenged the impugned order Annexure-9 passed by the Director, Pension Department, Government of Rajasthan, Jaipur, Respondent No. 3, whereby the claim of the Petitioner for admissibility to minimum pension including the benefit of revised pension in State service was held not admissible to the Petitioner for the reason that since he has already been getting the benefit of minimum pension as a Central Government employee, hence he was not entitled to claim dual benefit from the State Government of Rajasthan. Beh.g aggrieved by the aforesaid impugned order the Petitioner has filed this Writ Petition on the grounds inter-alia that he joined the service of G.R.P., Indore as a constable w.e.f. 22.01.1944. In the year 1949, the Headquarters of the Railway Police was shifted to Ajmer. During the relevant period G.R.P. was under the direct control of the Home Department at New Delhi w.e.f. 31st Aug., 1954 when the jurisdiction of the states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan was bifurcated, since the department of Railways was bifurcated from the Home Department of the Central Government, the petitioner exercised his option for voluntary retirement which was accepted and the petitioner was allowed to avail the benefit of pension by the Central Government. The Petitioner was sanctioned pension @ Rs. 7.9 Annas per month and gratuity of Rs. 270.00 per month. Thereafter the petitioner was appointed as a constable in Ajmer State police w.e.f. 24.4.1956. The State of Ajmer was merged in the State of Rajasthan in Nov., 1956 and consequent upon the said merger the Petitioner became an employee of the State of Rajasthan. Consequently the Petitioner received promotion as Head Constable and as such served the police department of the State upto 20.2.1975 when he retired from service on attaining the age of superannuation which was then 55 years and was held entitled to grant of pension by the State Government. On 31.8.1986, the Petitioner was paid the pension of Rs. 73/- per month, Rs. 142/- T.I. and thus he was getting Rs. 215.00 per month in all. With effect from 1.9.1986, the Petitioner started getting Rs. 217/- per month on account of pension being minimum of pension.

(2.) Subsequently by a Notification dated 20.10.87 issued by the Finance Department, Government of Rajasthan the pension was revised to Rs. 300.00 per month being minimum of the pension which was held admissible to the State Government employee who retired from service of the State w.e.f. 1.9.1986. On this very date two orders were passed by the Finance Department pertaining to grant of Dearness Allowance to the pensioners and the revised pension formula was made applicable to all the State Government pensioners who had retired prior to 1.9.1986.

(3.) It has further been contended by the Petitioner that according to the aforesaid orders of the pension department, the petitioner should have been paid the minimum of pension and the dearness allowance as under <FRM>JUDGEMENT_65_LAWS(RAJ)12_19961.html</FRM> It has further been contended that on 12.9.1988, the Accountant General, Rajasthan sent a letter to the Accountant General, Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior in the matter of revision of Petitioner's pension w.e.f. 1.9.1986 which was followed by another communication dated 20.9.1988. On 25.11.1988, the Director, Pension (Respondent No. 3) sent a communication to the Petitioner along with the copy of the Order dated 20.10.1987 to the Finance Department, calling upon the petitioner to produce the Order passed by the Finance Department to the concerned Treasury and forward the same to the office of Respondent No. 3 for final payment. The Petitioner accordingly applied for obtaining a copy of the Order passed by the Finance Department.