Punjab-Haryana High Court
Punjab State Electricity Board vs Varinder Kumar Mahajan And Others on 21 July, 2011
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT
CHANDIGARH
L.P.A. No. 1212 of 2011 (O&M) & connected appeals
Date of Decision: July 21, 2011
Punjab State Electricity Board
...Appellant
Versus
Varinder Kumar Mahajan and others
...Respondents
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE
JUSTICE M.M. KUMAR
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE GURDEV SINGH
Present: Mr. Balwinder Singh Jolly, Advocate,
for the appellant(s)
1. To be referred to the Reporters or not?
2. Whether the Judgment should be reported in the
Digest
M.M. KUMAR, J.
1. This order shall dispose of a Bunch* of appeals filed under Clause X of the Letters Patent as common question of law and facts have been raised. The short issue raised in all these appeals is whether the writ petitioner-respondent(s) were entitled to count their previous service rendered with the Government of India and/or other authorities, towards qualifying service for the purposes of pension and other retiral benefits after their superannuation from the appellant-Board.
2. Before the learned Single Judge the parties were ad idem that the issues raised in the writ petition(s) stands already answered by the learned Single Judge in the judgment L.P.A. No. 1212 of 2011 (O&M) & connected appeals 2 rendered in the case of Er. Ramesh Chander Mahajan v. State of Punjab and others (CWP No. 12278 of 2010, decided on 5.10.2010) 5.10.2010). In Ramesh Chander Mahajan's case (supra) the learned Single Judge disposed of a bunch of writ petitions by placing reliance on two Division Bench judgments of this Court rendered in the cases of The Punjab State Electricity Board v. The State of Punjab and others (LPA No. 115 of 2006, decided on 12.9.2008 and S.C. Kapuria v. Punjab State Electricity Board and others, others, 2007 (4) SCT, 755 as well as well as the judgment rendered in the case of Union of India v. State of Punjab and others, others, 2009 (3) SCT 597, 597 holding that the issue stands concluded and the appellant-Board is under obligation to count their previous service rendered in the Government of India or any other organisation. The learned Single Judge issued the following directions:-
"[i] The PSEB/Power Com shall be entitled to verify the service said to have been rendered by the petitioners in the Government of India/other Organization within a period of four months. If upon verification, the service rendered by the petitioners is found to be covered under the Government instructions dated 31.03.1982 as adopted by the Board on 25.11.1985, the benefit of such service shall be granted to the petitioner towards the 'qualifying service', within a period of two months thereafter; L.P.A. No. 1212 of 2011 (O&M) & connected appeals 3 [ii] The Government of India/its Agencies/other Boards shall also be at liberty to verify the service particulars of the petitioners and intimate the PSEB in this regard and reimburse to the PSEB their proportionate share in lump sum towards the pension and other retiral benefits payable to the petitioners within a period of six months."
3. The only submission made by the learned counsel for the appellant-Board is that the appellant Board should not be compelled to make payment to the writ petitioner- respondent(s) first and then recover it from the Central Government or any other agency later. However, we do not find any substance in the aforesaid submission because the directions are based on the Government instructions dated 31.3.1982, which have been duly adopted by the appellant- Board on 25.11.1985. Moreover, an individual employee is not expected to wait for the financial benefits which are payable to such retiree. Therefore, it has been rightly directed by the learned Single Judge that the payment may be made to the writ petitioner-respondent(s) first and the same may be recovered from the Union of India or other agencies/State lateron. We find nothing extra ordinary in the aforesaid direction which may warrant interference of this Court. The appeals are without merit and are, thus, libel to be dismissed. L.P.A. No. 1212 of 2011 (O&M) & connected appeals 4
4. As a sequel to the above discussion, these appeals fail and the same are accordingly dismissed.
5. A photocopy of this order be placed on the files of connected appeals.
(M.M. KUMAR) JUDGE (GURDEV SINGH) SINGH) July 21, 21, 2011 2011 JUDGE PKapoor * SR. LPA NO. & PARTIES NAME CWP NO.
NO. YEAR
1. 1212 of 2011 Punjab State Electricity Board v. 12034 of (O&M) Varinder Kumar Mahajan and 2010, others decided on 1.3.2011
2. 1213 of 2011 Punjab State Electricity Board v. 3222 of (O&M) Er. Hari Singh Sohi and others 2011, decided on 1.3.2011
3. 1214 of 2011 Punjab State Electricity Board v. 16531 of (O&M) Er. Partap Ji Arora and others 2010, decided on 23.2.2011 (M.M. KUMAR) JUDGE (GURDEV SINGH) July 21, 21, 2011 JUDGE Pkapoor