STATE OF U.P. Vs NARENDRA BAHADUR SINGH .
Bench: MUKUNDAKAM SHARMA,ANIL R. DAVE, , ,
Case number: C.A. No.-007662-007662 / 2011
Diary number: 15787 / 2004
Advocates: PRADEEP MISRA Vs
RACHNA GUPTA
Civil Appeal No. 7662 of 2011 @ SLP(C) 19897/2004 1
ITEM NO.1 COURT NO.11 SECTION XI
S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (Civil) No(s).19897/2004 (From the judgement and order dated 07/04/2003 in CMWP No.20703/1997 of The HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD)
STATE OF U.P. & ANR. Petitioner(s)
VERSUS
NARENDRA BAHADUR SINGH & ORS. Respondent(s) (With appln(s) for c/delay in filing SLP, exemption from filing O.T., permission to place addl. documents on record, permission for urging additional facts and office report)
Date: 06/09/2011 This Petition was called on for hearing today.
CORAM : HON'BLE DR. JUSTICE MUKUNDAKAM SHARMA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ANIL R. DAVE
For Petitioner(s) Mr. S. R. Singh, Sr. Adv. Mr. Shail Kumar Dwivedi, AAG. Ms. Malvika Trivedi, Adv. Mr. Suraj Singh, Adv.
Mr. Pradeep Misra, Adv.
For Respondent(s) For RR No. 1 Ms. Rachna Gupta, Adv.
For RR No. 4 Ms. Shobha Dikshit, Sr. Adv. Mr. T. Mahipal, Adv. Mr. Daleep Dhyani, Adv.
UPON hearing counsel the Court made the following O R D E R
Delay condoned. Leave granted. For the reasons recorded in the signed order, the
appeal stands allowed to the extent indicated therein leaving the parties to bear their own costs.
[KALYANI GUPTA] [RENU DIWAN] COURT MASTER COURT MASTER
Civil Appeal No. 7662 of 2011 @ SLP(C) 19897/2004 2
[SIGNED ORDER IS PLACED ON THE FILE.]
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL NO. 7662 OF 2011 ARISING OUT OF S.L.P. (C) NO. 19897 OF 2004
STATE OF U.P. & ANR. ..... APPELLANTS
VERSUS
NARENDRA BAHADUR SINGH & ORS. ..... RESPONDENTS
O R D E R
1. Delay condoned. 2. Leave granted.
3. The present appeal is directed against the
judgment and order dated 7th April, 2003 passed by the
Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court holding that
respondent no. 1 herein would be entitled to get his past
services effective from 1st September, 1970 to 10th
September, 1973 rendered in the office of State
Agricultural Marketing Officer and the service rendered
by him in Mandi Parishad effective from 11th September,
1973 to 1st May, 1975 counted alongwith the service
rendered as Judicial Officer for the purpose of pension,
gratuity etc.
4. The appellant was appointed as Legal Assistant in
Civil Appeal No. 7662 of 2011 @ SLP(C) 19897/2004 3
the office of the State Marketing Officer and worked in
the said post from 1st September, 1970 to 10th September,
1973. The respondent no.1 thereafter submitted his
application for his appointment to the post of Legal
Assistant which was forwarded to the Director (Mandis) in
the Krishi Utpadan Mandi Parishad. The said application
of the respondent no.1 was forwarded by the State
Agricultural Marketing Officer, his erstwhile office by
letter dated 12th August, 1973. A copy of the said
letter which was addressed to the Director (Agriculture)
was also sent to the respondent no. 1 with an intimation
that if he is selected to the post for which he has
submitted the application in Krishi Utpadan Mandi
Parishad, in that event, he would have to resign from the
said post and his lien would not be maintained in the
Department. Thereafter the respondent no. 1 was selected
and was also appointed in Krishi Utpadan Mandi Parishad.
He then resigned from his earlier post in State
Agricultural Marketing Office and joined Krishi Utpadan
Mandi Parishad on 11th September, 1973, wherein he worked
till 1st May, 1975.
5. While working as Legal Assistant in the State
Agricultural Marketing Office, certain vacancies for the
post of Munsiff had arisen and therefore the respondent
no. 1 submitted his application to one of the said posts
Civil Appeal No. 7662 of 2011 @ SLP(C) 19897/2004 4
while working in the above-said post. He was selected
and then appointed as a Munsiff in which post he joined
on 2nd May, 1975 i.e. after resigning from the post of
Legal Assistant of the Krishi Utapadan Mandi Parishad.
The respondent no. 1 continued to work as a Judicial
Officer till the date of his retirement.
6. He, however, submitted a representation on 11th
May, 1992, praying for counting his past service that was
rendered in State Agricultural Marketing Office and also
in Krishi Utpadan Mandi Parishad for the purpose of
computing his pension. The aforesaid representation of
the respondent no. 1 was considered by the State
Government and the same was rejected by letter dated 7th
July, 1997. The Government of Uttar Pradesh informed
the Registry of the High Court that since the respondent
no. 1 resigned from the post of Legal Assistant of State
Agricultural Marketing Officer and remained with Krishi
Utpadan Mandi Parishad and thereafter again resigned to
take up the Judicial Services it would not be possible to
compute his past services rendered in Krishi Utpadan
Mandi Parishad for the purpose of computing pension.
7. Being aggrieved by the aforesaid stand taken by
the State Government, the respondent no. 1 filed a writ
petition in the Allahabad High Court which was registered
as Civil Miscellaneous Writ Petition No. 20703 of 1997.
Civil Appeal No. 7662 of 2011 @ SLP(C) 19897/2004 5
The said writ petition was heard and was disposed of by
the impugned judgment and order dated 7th April, 2003
rendered by the High Court. The High Court directed that
the past service rendered by the appellant to the
aforesaid extent be computed for the purpose of
computation of his pension, gratuity etc. Being
aggrieved by the said Judgment and order passed by the
High Court, the present appeal has been preferred on
which we have heard the learned counsel appearing for the
parties.
8. The issue, therefore, which arises for our
consideration in the present appeal is whether the
service rendered by the respondent no. 1 on a non-
pensionable post may be added to his continuous length of
pensionable services for the purpose of calculating
pension and gratuity.
9. It is revealed from the records placed before us
that the respondent no. 1 was working as Legal Assistant
from 1st September, 1970 to 10th September, 1973. He,
however, submitted an application which was forwarded
under letter dated 12th August, 1973. In the said
letter, it was clearly indicated that if the respondent
no. 1 was selected to the post for which he has submitted
an application in that event he would have to resign from
the post of Legal Assistant in the Agricultural Marketing
Civil Appeal No. 7662 of 2011 @ SLP(C) 19897/2004 6
Section and that his lien would not be maintained in the
Department. Therefore, clearly, as revealed from the
records, the appointment of the respondent no.1 to the
post of Legal Assistant in Krishi Utpadan Mandi Parishad
was a fresh appointment in which post he joined on 9th
November, 1973 and worked till 1st May, 1975. As soon as
the resignation was accepted and he joined the new post
for all practical purposes, the respondent no. 1 became
an employee of the new employer namely, Krishi Utpadan
Mandi Parishad and was guided by their service
conditions. There is no dispute with regard to the fact
that the post which he was holding in Krishi Utpadan
Mandi Parishad was a non-pensionable post. Even
thereafter the respondent no. 1 applied for appointment
to the post of Munsiff. He appeared in the selection and
thereafter joined the post of Munsiff which was again a
fresh appointment. There is no documentary evidence
placed on record to indicate that at the time of his
appointment as Munsiff his past services were protected.
That being the position, the respondent no. 1 would not
be entitled to the benefit of the past services to be
counted for the purpose of his pension. The judgment and
order passed by the High Court therefore cannot be
affirmed which is set aside and the contention of the
respondent no. 1 in the writ petition is held to be
Civil Appeal No. 7662 of 2011 @ SLP(C) 19897/2004 7
unsustainable and therefore rejected.
10. The appeal stands allowed to the aforesaid extent
leaving the parties to bear their own costs.
.......................J [Dr. MUKUNDAKAM SHARMA]
........................J [ANIL R. DAVE]
NEW DELHI SEPTEMBER 6, 2011.