CWP No.8285 of 2004 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CWP No.8285 of 2004 Date of decision : 16-09-2010 Ved Parkash .... Petitioner VERSUS The State of Punjab and others ....Respondents CORAM:- HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE KANWALJIT SINGH AHLUWALIA Present: Mr. T.P. Singh, Advocate, for the petitioner. Mr. J.S. Puri, Addl. AG, Punjab, for respondent No.1. None for respondent Nos.2 and 3. KANWALJIT SINGH AHLUWALIA, J. (Oral) Counsel for the petitioner has stated that he will forego his challenge to the vires of PEPSU Road Transport Corporation, Employees Pension/Gratuity and General Provident Fund Regulations, 1992. Counsel further states that he will only press the prayer made in the petition that a writ in the nature of mandamus be issued directing the respondents to count the service of the petitioner for the period from 8.6.1977 to 28.02.1980 towards pensionary benefits and consequential revision in his pension. Briefly stated, petitioner joined as a Driver in the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation on 8.06.1977 and retired on superannuation on 1.10.1999. The grievance of the petitioner is that the service rendered by him from 8.6.1977 till 28.02.1980 has not been taken into consideration while calculating pensionary benefits. A reference has been made to Annexure P-1 pension payment order CWP No.8285 of 2004 -2- which reveals that the pension of the petitioner has been calculated w.e.f. 1.03.1980 when deduction towards Contributory Provident Fund was made from his salary. Counsel states that it was incumbent upon the respondents to deduct Contributory Provident Fund from the day when he became a regular employee of the Corporation. Counsel further states that he became regular employee w.e.f. 8.6.1977 and there was no reason for the Corporation not to deduct Contributory Provident Fund w.e.f. 8.6.1977 to 28.02.1980. Counsel states that petitioner is further ready and willing to pay the amount of his share of Contributory Provident Fund for the period from 8.6.1977 to 28.02.1980 along with interest @12% till today and his pension be refixed after taking into account his service rendered for that period. Counsel states that the respondents are relying upon an order dated 10.08.2004 passed by a Single Judge of this Court in RSA No.4827 of 2001 wherein it was held that the temporary service rendered by the plaintiff to the suit cannot be considered for grant of pension as for that period Contributory Provident Fund was not contributed by the employee in the abovesaid RSA. Counsel states that order passed in RSANo.4827 of 2001 decided on 10.08.2004 has not noticed the judgment rendered by a Division Bench of this Court in CWP No.5661 of 1999 decided on 4.4.2000 titled as 'Kasturi Lal Khurana and others versus State of Punjab and others, reported as 2003(4) SCT 462', wherein the case of the employee of the Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar was that it was for the employer to deduct contributions towards the Provident Fund with CWP No.8285 of 2004 -3- effect from the date of the initial appointment and the service rendered by the employee cannot be ignored. The relevant portion of the Division Bench judgment accepting the claim of the petition is reproduced as under:- "7. The plea of respondent Nos.1 and 2 that the period prior to 28.2.1968 cannot be counted towards the qualifying service is based on a misconceived assumption that after passing of the resolution dated 6.9.1968 because the petitioners were not called upon to deposit their contribution towards the provident fund with effect from the dates of the initial appointments. That apart, no evidence has been produced before the Court to show that at the time of implementation of the Pension Scheme, they were called upon to deposit their contribution of the provident fund: 8. In view of the above, we hold that the petitioners are entitled to get retiral benefits on the basis of the total service rendered by them. 9. Hence, the writ petition is allowed. The respondents are directed to re-count the qualifying service of the petitioners by taking into consideration the total service rendered by them from the dates of initial appointments. The amount of contribution of provident fund which the petitioners were required to deposit may be adjusted from out of the amount which they may be found entitled to get as a result of re- calculation of the retiral benefits payable to them in terms of this order. The respondents should undertake and complete the exercise for granting of revised retiral benefits to the petitioners within a period of four months from the date of submission of certified copy of this order." I am bound by the decision rendered by Division Bench of this Court in Kasturi Lal Khurana's case (supra). Hence, present writ petition is accepted. Respondents are directed to recalculate the CWP No.8285 of 2004 -4- pension of the petitioner after taking into consideration the service rendered by the petitioner from 8.6.1977 to 28.02.1980. However, for this period, petitioner will be liable to pay the amount of his share towards Provident Fund contribution along with interest @12% per annum. The interest shall be calculated by the Corporation according to their accounting practises. The petitioner shall be liable to pay the interest till the day the same is deposited. The amount to be deposited by the petitioner shall be calculated and conveyed to the petitioner by the Corporation within three months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order and on deposit of the calculated amount the pension of the petitioner shall be re-fixed within three months thereafter. No costs. (KANWALJIT SINGH AHLUWALIA) 16-09-2010 JUDGE manju