Shri.Kalidas Shivram Dhanwate vs The State Of Maharashtra Through ...
2021 Latest Caselaw 2815 Bom

P.H. Jayani                                       07 WP12358.2017.doc


              IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                      CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

                   WRIT PETITION NO. 12358 OF 2017

Kalidas Shivram Dhanwate                     ....Petitioner
           v/s.
The State of Maharashtra and ors.            .... Respondents

Mr. Ashok B. Tajane for the Petitioner.
Ms. S.S. Bhende, AGP for Respondent Nos.1 to 6.
Mr. Vijay Killedar for Respondent Nos.7 and 8.
Ms. Rekha Musale for Respondent Nos.9 and 10.

                             CORAM: S.C. GUPTE &
                                    SURENDRA P. TAVADE, JJ.

DATED : 11 FEBRUARY, 2021.

P. C. :-

. The subject matter of the controversy in the present petition

concerns applicability of the Old Pension Scheme i.e., the Pension

and Gratuity Scheme, to the Petitioner who was appointed prior to

the cut of date of 01/11/2005, but the School, in which he was

working, started receiving 100% grant-in-aid after 01/11/2005. On

that basis, his application for pension was rejected and not

forwarded by the Superintendent of Pay and Provident Fund Unit

(Primary), Zilla Parishad, Solapur to the Auditor General, Mumbai.

This order is challenged by the petitioner both on merits and also on

the ground of want of authority on the part of the Superintendent to

reject the petitioner's pension proposal.

P.H. Jayani 07 WP12358.2017.doc

2. The very issue, namely, whether employees who were

appointed prior to 01/11/2005 in aided recognized primary,

secondary and higher secondary schools as well as colleges, which

were receiving less than 100% grant-in-aid as on 01/11/2005, are

entitled to the beneft of Old Pension Scheme under the Pension and

Commutation of Pension Rules or whether they would be governed

by the New Pension Scheme under the GR of 2005, was referred by a

Division Bench of this Court to a Full Bench for decision. The Full

Bench, in its judgment delivered in the case of Deshmukh D.

Bhagwan v/s. State of Maharashtra 2019(4) Bom.C.R. 460, decided

the issue holding that such employees would be governed by the

DCP scheme i.e., the New Pension Scheme efective from 01/11/2005

and not the Old Scheme, i.e., the Pension and Gratuity Scheme.

Various petitions fled after the Full Bench delivered its judgment,

have accordingly been disposed of directing the authorities to

observe the decision of the Full Bench. The Division Bench of our

Court deciding those matters has observed that the order passed by

the Court whilst disposing of the petitions would automatically stand

modifed depending upon the view taken by the Supreme Court.

3. We, accordingly, dispose of this petition in the same terms. It is

accordingly ordered that the writ petition is disposed of by holding

P.H. Jayani 07 WP12358.2017.doc

that the petitioner was not entitled to participate in the Old Pension

Scheme but is to be governed by the New Pension Scheme, i.e. the

DCP Scheme, for the reasons stated by the Full Bench of this Court

in Deshmukh D. Bhagwan (supra). We, however, make it clear that in

the event the Supreme Court decides the issue in favour of the SLP

petitioners, the Superintendent of Pay and Provident Fund Unit

(Primary), Zilla Parishad, Solapur shall forward the proposal of the

present petitioner to the Auditor General, Mumbai for processing it

further.

Preeti H.

Jayani Digitally signed by (SURENDRA P. TAVADE, J.) (S.C. GUPTE, J.) Preeti H. Jayani Date: 2021.02.18 11:08:33 +0530