IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE THOTTATHIL B.RADHAKRISHNAN THURSDAY, THE 5TH AUGUST 2010 / 14TH SRAVANA 1932 WP(C).No. 5465 of 2009(C) ------------------------------------- PETITIONER: ------------------- DR.V.SHYAMALA, "ASWATHY", AVITTOM ROAD JUNCTION, MEDICAL COLLEGE P.O., THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. BY SRI.N.N.SUGUNAPALAN, SENIOR ADVOCATE, ADV. SRI.S.SUJIN. RESPONDENTS: ------------------------ 1. DIRECTOR OF COLLEGIATE EDUCATION, GOVT. OF KERALA, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. 2. PRINCIPAL SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT, HIGHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT, GOVT. SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. 3. STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY THE CHIEF SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT, GOVT. SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. R1 TO R3 BY GOVERNMENT PLEADER SRI. T.T. MUHAMMOD. THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON 05/08/2010, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: W.P.(C). NO.5465/2009-C: APPENDIX PETITIONERS' EXHIBITS: EXT.P.1: COPY OF THE ORDER ISSUED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF KERALA DTD. 10/05/1999. EXT.P.2: COPY OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE KERALA UNIVERSITY DTD. 25/01/2000. EXT.P.3: COPY OF THE ORDER OF THE R.1. DTD. 01/08/2000. EXT.P.4: COPY OF THE LETTER DTD. 04/11/2003 SENT BY THE REGISTRAR, KERALA UNIVERSITY TO THE R.1. EXT.P.5: COPY OF THE GOVT. ORDER G.O.(P) NO.228/01/FIN. DTD. 02/02/2001. EXT.P.6: COPY OF THE GOVT. ORDER G.O.(P).NO.193/04/FIN. DTD. 20/04/2004. EXT.P.7: COPY OF THE GOVT. LETTER DTD. 01/02/2005 FROM THE HIGHER EDUCATION DEPARTMENT. EXT.P.8: COPY OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE R.1. DTD. 17/03/1998. EXT.P.9: COPY OF THE ORDER OF THE R.1. DTD. 10/06/2002. EXT.P.10: COPY OF THE JUDGMENT OF THIS HONOURABLE COURT IN W.P.(C).NO.970/03 DT. 26/06/03. EXT.P.11: COPY OF THE LETTER DT. 11/03/05 WITH THE CALCULATION STATEMENT SENT FROM THE KERALA UNIVERSITY TO THE R.1. EXT.P.12: COPY OF THE JUDGMENT OF THIS HONOURABLE COURT IN W.P.(C). NO.8031/05 DT. 18/12/2007. EXT.P.13: COPY OF THE PROCEEDINGS NO.D1/2263/08/COLL.EDN. DT. 04/02/2008 OF THE R.1. EXT.P.14: COPY OF THE LETTER NO. D1/2263/08/COLL. EDN. DT. 11/12/2008 SENT BY THE R.1. TO THE PETITIONER. RESPONDENTS' EXHIBITS: NIL. //TRUE COPY// P.S. TO JUDGE. Prv. THOTTATHIL B.RADHAKRISHNAN, J. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = W.P.(C).No.5465 of 2009-C = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Dated this the 5th day of August, 2010. Judgment The petitioner was working as a Lecturer in All Saints College, Thiruvananthapuram from 16.6.1967 to 24.3.1999 when she entered the service of the University of Kerala. While working as Professor in the University of Kerala, she retired on superannuation on 31.3.2005. With the service she had rendered in the All Saints College, she had put in a total of 31 years of service. The All Saints College is an aided college. The petitioner, therefore, wanted the service rendered in the All Saints College also to be counted for the purpose of determining the total length of service to reckon the pensionary benefits. This Court directed consideration of the petitioner's case. The Director of Collegiate Education noted that the Registrar of the University had requested the Government to remit WPC5465/09 -: 2 :- Rs.18,45,095/- as pro-rata pension for her past service as a teacher in the All Saints College. In Ext.P13 by the Deputy Director of Collegiate Education issued following the earlier direction of this Court, the stand taken against the petitioner is that the Government Order referred to by her related to Municipal Common Service/Panchayats and Universities and because the petitioner had left the service of All Saints College before the date of that Government Order, she was not entitled to the benefit thereof. If the service in All Saints College was a pensionable service; which indisputably it is; there is no reason why such service shall not also be reckoned to determine the total length of service to reckon the pension and other retiral benefits. I find formidable support to this view in Ext.P10 judgment rendered by this Court in O.P.970/2003 which was a case of a retired Professor of the University of Calicut who had earlier served the Sacred Heart College, Thevara, which again, is an aided college. I am in WPC5465/09 -: 3 :- complete agreement with the Hon'ble Mr.Justice K.Balakrishnan Nair to say that if the service rendered by the teacher in that private college is pensionable service, there is no justification for not paying the pro-rata pensionary benefits for the said period by the Government. In fact, Ext.P10 was delivered by the learned Judge following yet another judgment of this Court in O.P.402/2002 dated 19.6.2002 which was Ext.P8 in the case decided as per Ext.P10 judgment. For the aforesaid reasons, the writ petition is entitled to succeed. The same is accordingly allowed quashing Exts.P13 and P14 orders and directing the first respondent to remit Rs.18,45,095/- to the Kerala University Fund in lump sum towards the pro-rata pension contribution of the petitioner in respect of her service in the All Saints College from 16.6.1967 to 24.3.1999 as requested in Ext.P11. The respondents are further directed to grant full pension to the petitioner taking into account the WPC5465/09 -: 4 :- previous service rendered by her in the All Saints College from 16.6.1967 to 23.3.1999 with interest. Taking overall facts and circumstances into consideration, it is ordered that the claim for interest would stand confined to the statutory entitlement, if any in terms of KSR and not beyond. No costs. THOTTATHIL B.RADHAKRISHNAN, JUDGE. Sha/1308 Date “23.3.1999” occurring in page No.4, 2nd line of the judgment in WP(C)No.5465/2009 is corrected as “24.03.1999”, vide order dated 11.11.2010 in I.A.15272/2010. Sd/- Registrar (Judicial)