Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 12: High Court today directed the Government to count 50% of the civil services rendered by the petitioners as Anganwari workers as qualified for pension together with the period of services rendered in the regular establishment.
These directions were issued by Justice Tashi Rabstan while deciding common question of law as to whether the services rendered by an employee while working as “Anganwari Worker” prior to his/her substantive appointment to the post of Supervisor in the Social Welfare Department would count for pensionary benefits in terms of Rule 177-A of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services Regulation.
In case total of two spells of service rendered by the petitioners qualifies for the requisite requirement then they would be eligible for pension and other post retiral benefits admissible to the employees of the State, the High Court held and directed the respondents to process the case of all the three petitioners for grant of pensionary benefits within a period of one month.
The petitioners were appointed as Anganwari workers on different dates and later on appointed by way of selection to the post of Supervisor in the Social Welfare Department. All the three petitioners have superannuated while holding posts of Supervisors in Social Welfare Department borne on the Jammu and Kashmir Social Welfare (Non-Gazetted) Service Recruitment Rules, 1991.
On the superannuation of the petitioner, Ganesh Kumari, her case for release of post retiral benefits including pension was processed in the office of Child Development Project Officer, Samba and forwarded to Accountant General, which rejected the case on the ground that she had only rendered temporary service of seven years, as such, pension was not admissible to her as per the Pension Rules.
She has, however, been held entitled to terminal gratuity. Though case of writ petitioner-Ganesh Kumari was processed and rejected, the pension case of other petitioners was not even processed by their employers. Having faced denial of pensionary benefits at the hands of respondents, petitioners knocked the doors of the High Court by filing three separate writ petitions.
After hearing both the sides, Justice Tashi Rabstan observed, “it is true that Rule 177-A of J&K CSR does not per se provide for reckoning of services rendered by an employee as Anganwari Worker but the fact remains that such services cannot be said to be in any manner different from or inferior to the services rendered by an employee in his/her capacity as work charged employee/whole time contingent paid staff including daily rated worker(s)”.
“Rule 177-A was recast vide Notification/SRO 154 dated 28th April 1997. Explanation to Rule 177-A was inserted vide Notification/SRO 328 dated 24th November 1998. It provides that “whole time contingent paid worker means a worker other than casual/worker, brought on regular establishment and paid on permanent in a graded scale by debit to contingencies, who shall be eligible for pensionary benefits under rules”, High Court observed.
“It is pertinent to point out here that the provision of pension is beneficial in nature, which ought to receive a liberal interpretation so as to serve the object underlying pension scheme. However, if benefits of counting 50% service is only restricted to work charged employee/whole time contingent paid staff including daily rated worker(s) then Rule 177-A of J&K CSR would have to be declared as arbitrary, discriminatory and unconstitutional”, Justice Rabstan said, adding “as rightly pointed out by counsel for the petitioners and which has support of judgment, services rendered as Anganwari worker are required to be treated at par with the services rendered by an employee as work charged employee/whole time contingent paid staff including daily rated worker(s) for the purposes of counting 50% thereof as qualified for pension so as to save the provisions of Rule 177-A of J&K CSR from being declared unconstitutional”.
The court held that the services rendered by the petitioners as Anganwari workers in the Social Welfare Department before being substantively appointed to the civil post of Supervisor shall be deemed to have been provided under Article 177-A of J&K CSR and term “Anganwari Worker” shall be read into along with “work charged employee/whole time contingent paid staff including daily rated worker(s)”.
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