Punjab-Haryana High Court
Virender Singh vs State Of Haryana And Others on 5 September, 2023
Neutral Citation No:=2023:PHHC:116916
CWP-7409-2021 2023:PHHC:116916
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA
AT CHANDIGARH
242 CWP-7409-2021
Date of Decision :-05.09.2023
Virender Singh ...Petitioner
Versus
State of Haryana and others ...Respondents
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HARSIMRAN SINGH SETHI
Present: Mr. S. K. Daaria, Advocate for the petitioner.
Mr. Harish Nain, AAG, Haryana.
***
Harsimran Singh Sethi, J. (Oral)
Present petition has been filed raising a claim that the part-time
service, which the petitioner had rendered prior to the regularization of his
services, is liable to be taken into account as qualifying service for
computing his pensionary benefits.
Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the claim of the
petitioner is squarely covered by the judgment of this Court passed in CWP-
1048-2016 titled as Jai Bhagwan vs. State of Haryana and others on
01.03.2019.
Learned counsel for the respondents submits that though, the
question of law raised in the present petition is covered by the judgment of
this Court in Jai Bhagwan (supra) but the said judgment is pending
consideration before the Division Bench of this Court in LPA No.1892-
2019. Learned counsel for the respondents very fairly submits that judgment
in Jai Bhagwan (supra) has not been stayed.
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Learned State counsel further submits that as the matter is
pending consideration before the Division Bench of this Court, no benefit of
the order passed by this Court in Jai Bhagwan (supra) can be extended to the
petitioner.
I have heard learned counsel for the parties and have gone
though the record with their able assistance.
Once, it is a conceded position that question of law raised in the
present petition is covered by the judgment in Jai Bhagwan (supra), the
petitioner is also entitled for the same relief. The argument of the learned
State counsel that judgment of this Court in Jai Bhagwan is pending
consideration before the Division Bench of this Court hence, no benefit of
the said judgment should be granted, cannot be accepted especially, when
the judgment in Jai Bhagwan (supra) has not been stayed. Once, the law
settled in Jai Bhagwan (supra) is operative, the petitioner is entitled for the
same benefit.
Further, not only this, even subsequent to the judgment in Jai
Bhagwan (supra), this Court decided the same issue in CWP-10238-2017
tilted as Jeewan Lata vs. State of Punjab and others on 10.05.2019 and the
detailed reasons for accepting the part-time service as qualifying service
have been mentioned therein, which also covers the claim of the petitioner as
raised in the present petition.
At this stage, learned counsel for the respondents submits that
there is no record of the services rendered by the petitioner on part-time
basis.
The said objection being raised by the respondents is incorrect.
It is a conceded position that services of the petitioner were regularized by
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the respondents under the regularization policy of the year 2003 according to
which policy, an employee should be in service as in the year 1996 and
should have been completed 240 days in service and further he/she should
have completed 03 years of service as on 30.09.2003. Once, the petitioner
fulfilled the said condition in order to get his services regularized, it cannot
be said that the petitioner did not render any part-time service so as to claim
benefit of the same.
Learned counsel for the respondents has not been able to rebut
the factum that services of the petitioner were regularized by them under the
2003 policy. That being so, it does not lie in the mouth of the respondents
that there is no record of the services rendered by the petitioner on part-time
basis, relief of which is being sought. Even otherwise, this Court is only
holding that any part time service which the petitioner rendered prior to the
regularization of his service is liable to be taken into account as qualifying
service for computing his pensionary benefits, the respondents will be
within their jurisdiction to ascertain the fact qua the rendering of part-time
service by the petitioner, claim of which is being sought in the present
petition before extending the actual benefit to the petitioner.
Learned counsel for the respondents further submits that a Co-
ordinate Bench of this Court while passing order in CWP-13153-2015 titled
as Mukhtyari Devi vs State of Haryana and others on 31.01.2017 has
declined the said benefit as being claimed by the petitioner in the present
petition.
It may be noticed that judgment in Mukhtyari Devi (supra) is
by simply interpreting the rules whereas, subsequent to the said judgment
the same rules have been interpreted to mean that where an employee
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though, working on part-time basis but continued in service for more than
one decade, the said service cannot be treated part-time service so as to deny
the benefit to be treated the same as qualifying service for the grant of
pensionary benefits. Hence, no benefit of the judgment in Mukhtyari Devi
(supra) can be given to the respondents so as to deny the benefit to the
petitioner.
No other argument has been raised.
Keeping in view the above, present petition is allowed.
Respondents are directed to consider the claim of the petitioner for the grant
of benefit of part-time service rendered by him as qualifying service to
compute the pensionary benefits and whatever services the petitioner had
rendered on part-time basis be treated as qualifying service so as to revised
his pensionary benefits admissible to him and grant him the consequent
benefits alongwith arrears.
Let the present order be complied with within a period of two
months from the date of receipt of copy of this order.
September 05, 2023 (HARSIMRAN SINGH SETHI)
aarti JUDGE
Whether speaking/reasoned : Yes/No
Whether reportable : Yes/No
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