This judgment dismisses writ petitions filed by retired primary school teachers from Bihar. The High Court held that service rendered on a monthly stipend basis prior to permanent establishment adjustment does not qualify for pension under the Bihar Pension Rules. The court also dismissed the claim as stale.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.20117 of 2012
=========================================================== Kashi Nath Singh Son Of Radhacharan Singh, resident of Village- Uttardahan, P.O.- Manudihri P.S.- Jagdishpur, Bhojpur (Bihar)
.... .... Petitioner Versus
.... .... Respondents with
=========================================================== Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 22655 of 2012 =========================================================== Ramlayak Singh S/O Baldhari Singh R/O Village- Dhemha, P.O.- Bagwan, P.S.Udwantnagar, District- Bhojpur (Arrah)
.... .... Petitioner Versus
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7. The District Education Officer, Bhojpur Arrah
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.... .... Respondents with =========================================================== Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 22474 of 2012 =========================================================== Triveni Chaudhary S/O Radha Chaudhary R/O Akhauri Mohalla, Ward-10, Jagdishpur, P.S. - Jagdishpur, District - Bhojpur (Arrah)
.... .... Petitioner
Versus
.... .... Respondents
=========================================================== Appearance : (In CWJC No.20117 of 2012) For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Mahendra Prasad Verma, Advocate For the Respondent/s : Mr. Tej Bahadur Singh AAG7 (In CWJC No.22655 of 2012) For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Mahendra Prasad Verma, Advocate For the Respondent/s : Mr. Rajesh Kumar GP-21 For Accountant General : Mr. Jitendra Kumar Roy, Advocate (In CWJC No.22467 of 2012) For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Paras Nath Singh, Advocate For the State : Mr. J. S. Arora For Accountant General : Mr. Binod Kumar Labh, SC (In CWJC No.22395 of 2012) For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Mahendra Prasad Verma, Advocate For the Respondent No.5 : Mr. Ramjesh Singh, Advocate
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For the Accountant General : Mr. Ram Yash Singh, Advocate (In CWJC No.22352 of 2012) For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Mahendra Prasad Verma, Advocate For the Respondent/s : Mr. Anuj Kumar, AC to GP-24 (In CWJC No.22276 of 2012) For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Mahendra Prasad Verma, Advocate For the Respondent/s : Mr. Ranjit Kumar, AC to GP-26 For Accountant General : Mr. Kumar Priya Ranjan, Advocate (In CWJC No.22474 of 2012) For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Mahendra Prasad Verma, Advocate For the Respondent/s : Mr. Madhaw Prasad Yadav, GP-23 For the Accountant General : Mr. Vivekanand Kumar, Advocate
=========================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ASHWANI KUMAR SINGH ORAL JUDGMENT
Date: 21-11-2016
Heard learned counsel for the petitioners, learned counsel for the State and learned counsel for the AccountantGeneral.
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monthly stipend on purely temporary basis. Subsequently, they were adjusted in regular scale. After working for over three decades in regular establishment on attaining the age of superannuation, they retired from service between 31st July, 2007 and 31st August, 2009.
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under Rule 45, 56, 58 and 61 of the Bihar Pension Rules, 1950, a Full-Bench of this Court held in paras 11, 12, 13 and 14 as under:-
“ 11. Rule 56 of the Pension Rules provides that ‘unless it be otherwise provided by special rule or contract, the service of every Government servant qualifies from the date he takes the charge of the post to which he is first appointed’. Rule 58 thereof provides that the service of a Government servant does not qualify for pension unless it conforms to the following three conditions:-
(i) The service must be under Government. (ii)The employment must be substantive and permanent.
(iii) The service must be paid by Government.
12. Rule 61 thereof provides, ‘service does not qualify unless the Government servant holds substantively a post on a permanent establishment’. Rule 45 thereof expressly excludes certain service for computation of pension. Clause (a) thereof reads, ‘when a government servant is appointed for a limited time only, or for a specified duty, on the completion of which he is to be discharged’. Clause (b) thereof reads, ‘when a person is employed temporarily on monthly wages without specified limit of time or duty’.
13. It is apparent that the above-referred provisions were not brought to the notice of the
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learned Single Judge or before the Division Bench in the matter of State of Bihar & Ors. Vs. Chandrika Rai & Ors (Letters Patent Appeal No. 1343 of 1998).
14. Keeping in view the above provisions, we are of the opinion that the service rendered by the petitioner as daily wage Choukidar under the Executive Engineer, Tubewell Division, Gaya cannot be said to be a service for which the petitioner was paid from the general revenue of the State Government or the service rendered on a substantive post in a permanent establishment. Such service, although was followed by absorption on regular establishment, will not qualify for pension. Therefore, the service rendered by the petitioner, as daily wage employee from April 1973 to December 1978, was not a pensionable service or did not qualify for pension. On his retirement from service or his superannuation from service, he would be entitled to pension for the service rendered on a substantive post from 1st January 1979 till the date he retired from service”
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& Ors. (Letters Patent Appeal No. 1343 of 1998) . The Bench also overruled all other judgments of this Court which had taken a contrary view in the matter.
& Anr. vs. Bhagwan Singh (supra), vide order dated 11.11.2016, I have held as under :-
“20. The case of the petitioner is squarely covered by the ratio laid down by the Full Bench of this Court in State of Bihar & Anr. vs. Bhagwan Singh (supra). The petitioner was initially appointed under a ‘Special Employment Scheme’ on stipend basis which was purely temporary in nature. He was also not in a permanent establishment of a substantive post and the payments were made from grant-in-aid. Therefore, the service rendered by the petitioner on stipend basis from October, 1973 to 31st March, 1975 would not qualify for pension only on the ground
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that he was subsequently adjusted by the State Government on the post of Assistant Teacher in Matric Trained scale with effect from 1st April, 1975. It is indeed not in dispute that the petitioner has been given all the benefits during his service period and has been paid his pension for the service rendered by him in regular establishment. It would also be pertinent to note here that the Full Bench in State of Bihar vs. Bhagwan Singh (supra) has expressly overruled all other judgments which had taken a contrary view in such matter. Hence, the decision in the matter of Yogendra Raut (Supra) relied upon by the petitioner in support of his claim is of no help to the petitioner as the ratio laid down in that case stands overruled by a Full Bench of this Court.
21. I also find substance in the argument made on behalf of the State that the claim of the petitioner is stale one.
22. In the result, the petition, being devoid of any merit, is dismissed.”
no merit in the claim of the petitioners for counting the period during which they rendered their services on stipend basis for the purpose of pension and/or pay revision. Moreover, the claim of the petitioners is stale one, as they never raised these issues while they
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were in service.
any merit, are dismissed.
(Ashwani Kumar Singh, J.)
Kanchan/-
AFR/NAFR NAFR CAV DATE ... Uploading Date 22.11.2016 Transmission Date
3 issues framed by the court
Whether the period of service rendered by retired teachers on a monthly stipend basis prior to their absorption in the regular establishment can be counted for pension and pay revision.
Whether the petitioners' claim was stale as the issues were not raised during their service tenure.
Whether the Full Bench decision in State of Bihar vs. Bhagwan Singh covers the case of teachers appointed on stipend basis and subsequently adjusted in regular posts.
Colour shows how this judgement treated each authority
State of Bihar & Anr. vs. Bhagwan Singh (since dead)Followed¶81
State of Bihar & Anr. vs. Bhagwan Singh (since dead) [2014(4) PLJR 229]
State of Bihar & Ors. Vs. Chandrika Rai & OrsOverruled¶94
State of Bihar & Ors. Vs. Chandrika Rai & Ors (Letters Patent Appeal No. 1343 of 1998)
Ram Bilash Prasad Singh vs. the State of Bihar & Ors.Followed¶98
Ram Bilash Prasad Singh vs. the State of Bihar & Ors. (CWJC No. 6103 of 2012)
Kashi Nath Singh
Ramlayak Singh
Paras Nath Singh
Baijnath Prasad
Ramadhar Ram
Nand Gopal Singh
Ashwani Kumar Singh
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
