HP HC orders pension right to employee debarred on the ground of daily wages -

HP HC orders pension right to employee debarred on the ground of daily wages

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Shimla, October 12

In a significant ruling, the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, in a judgment dated October 11, 2023, has ordered the State of Himachal Pradesh to extend pension benefits to Class III employee who had rendered service on a daily wage basis before regularization or grant of work charge status. The decision comes following a challenge in the case of Roop Lal vs. State of H.P. & Others.

The petitioner, a retired Class-III employee, sought the counting of his daily wage service towards qualifying service for the grant of pension under the CCS (Pension Rules, 1972). The services of Roop Lal were regularized in 2002 after serving as a daily wager since 1991. The minimum qualifying period for pension is 10 years of regular service, and Roop Lal had served for eight years. The writ petition was filed 12 years after his retirement in 2019.

The judgment cited a previous Division Bench decision, “State of H.P. and others Vs. Ram Lal & others,” which concluded that daily wage service could not be counted towards qualifying service for pension. However, the case was subsequently challenged before the Supreme Court, which ruled in 2018 that daily wage service should be counted for pension purposes if the employee had been regularly employed for more than ten years.

The High Court found the petitioner entitled for pension on the basis of Supreme Court verdict whereby it has been held that the services rendered as a regular employee may first be computed. After that the component at the rate of one year of regular service for every five years of service as daily wager, be added. In case the length of service is more than eight years but less than ten years, the same shall be reckoned as ten years.

The recent High Court judgment reaffirmed the applicability of this rule for Class III employees, emphasizing that the purpose of pension is a constitutional mandate, requiring the extension of proportional equality as outlined in Articles 14, 38, and 39 of the Constitution. The court stressed that pension is not a charity but a right earned for long and satisfactory service, emphasizing the need for social security in post-retirement years.

Consequently, the State of Himachal Pradesh has been directed to grant pension benefits to Class III employee. The court has ordered the state to extend these benefits within one month, with monetary benefits three years prior to the petition filing and benefits accruing beyond that on a notional basis.

Background of the case

The brief facts of the case are that the petitioner was engaged as a Fitter on daily wage basis in the Irrigation & Public Health (IPH) Department in the year 1991. His services were regularized in the year 2002. He superannuated in the year 2010, after rendering services for 8 years on a regular basis. The minimum requisite qualifying period of service for grant of pension is 10 years regular service.

The petitioner approached High Court 12 years after superannuation. The Court found that the claim for pension is a recurring cause of action. Delay in filing the present petition would dis-entitle the petitioner for grant of interest but he is definitely entitled for monetary benefits prospectively.

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