The division judge bench of the Jharkhand High Court held that the pension is not a bounty or a charity, it is earned by the employee on account of meritorious past services and is a constitutional right of an employee under Section 300-A of the Constitution.
Brief facts
The factual matrix of the case is that the Respondents working as daily wage workers on class III post under the Birsa Agriculture University approached the writ court with a grievance against the regularization of other similarly situated daily wagers under the university. The writ court disposed of the writ petition with a direction to the university to consider the regularization of the daily wagers, however, the daily wager workers again approached the writ court as their directions were not complied with. The contempt case was laid and the same was disposed of as the statement was made by the university that the interview of selecting the suitable candidates was in progress. The appointments were offered and as per the university, the respondents are not entitled to claim any benefit from their past services.
Observations of the court
The Hon’ble court observed that the University recognized the respondents' prior service by granting them an age relaxation, and as a result, they are eligible to have their prior service counted towards their pension. Additionally, the appointment letter makes no mention of any limitations on the benefits of past services. If the respondents' appointment is ruled to be a new one due to a technical plea, not only will they lose the benefit of their prior services, but the pension system as a whole will also be overlooked.
The court relied upon the judgment titled Deokinandan Prasad v. State of Bihar in which it was held that pension is not a bounty or a charity, it is earned by the employee on account of meritorious past services.
Based on these considerations, the court was of the opinion that the university is trying to rob the Respondents of a constitutional right under Section 300-A of the Constitution.
The decision of the court
With the above direction, the court dismissed the letter patents appeal.
Case Title: Birsa Agriculture University V. The State of Jharkhand
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Acting Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Navneet Kumar
Case No.: L.P.A No. 430 of 2023
Advocates for the Appellants: Mr. Abhijeet Kumar Singh, Advocate, Mr. Harsh Chandra, Advocate
Advocates for the Respondent: Mr. Suresh Kumar, SC(L&C)-II, Mr. Rajesh Kumar Singh, AC to SC(:&C)-II, Mr. Abhinay Kumar, A.C to G.A.-I
Read Judgment @Latestlaws.com:
Picture Source :
