Sudhir Kumar Consul vs Allahabad Bank

4) The factual matrix in brief is as under :

The appellant was appointed as a Clerk in the Nainital Branch of the Allahabad Bank, the respondent herein, on 21.02.1976. Subsequently, the appellant was promoted to the post of JMG-Scale-I Officer Grade on 02.05.1983. The services of the appellant, after promotion, were governed by the 1979 Regulations. The Regulation 46 of 1979 Regulations provides retirees an option of gratuity or pension in lieu thereof, and further, the pension benefits for the retirees opting for pension are available under the Old Pension Scheme. Pursuant 2 to the Tripartite Memorandum of Settlement [hereinafter referred to as "the Tripartite Settlement"], among the management, workers and officers of the various banks dated 29.10.1993, the respondent formulated a draft/proposed Allahabad Bank Employees (Pension) Regulation 1993 [hereinafter referred to as "the draft/proposed 1993 Regulations"] vide Instruction Circular no. 3904 dated 06.09.1994. The draft/proposed 1993 Regulations provided the option to the employees, who were on the rolls of the Bank as on 31.10.1993, to opt for pension as per the Old Pension Scheme plus Contributory Provident Fund [hereinafter referred to as "the CPF"]. Accordingly, the appellant claimed pension under the Old Pension Scheme in terms of the draft/proposed 1993 Regulations on 30.11.1994. Subsequently, on 29.09.1995, the respondent formally adopted the 1995 Regulations pursuant to the Tripartite Settlement. The 1995 Regulations superseded the draft/proposed 1993 Regulations vide Circular No. 4318 dated 16.11.1995 by further extending the benefit under the draft/proposed 1993 Regulations to the employees who were on the rolls of Bank as on 29.09.1995 to opt for pension as per the 3 Old Pension Scheme plus CPF. Further, the 1995 Regulations, in express terms, have validated the earlier options exercised by the employees in accordance with the draft/proposed 1993 Regulations. The appellant applied for the voluntary retirement pursuant to the Allahabad Bank Employees Voluntary Retirement Scheme, 2000 [hereinafter referred to as "the VRS-

2000"], which was accepted on 12.04.2001 and the appellant stood relieved from the services of the Bank on 30.04.2001.

Subsequently, on 09.10.2001, the appellant made a request to the competent authority for sanction of pension in lieu of gratuity, but his request was rejected by the General Manager (Personnel Administration), vide letter dated 13.11.2001 as not maintainable on the ground that an officer employed or appointed after 01.07.1079 is ineligible for pension under the Old Pension Scheme in view of Regulation 46 of the 1979 Regulations. In this backdrop, the appellant alternatively requested the General Manager (Personnel Administration) vide 4 letter dated 05.03.2002 to accept his option for Pension under the 1995 Regulations and further intimated his provisional acceptance of the said gratuity of `2,36,449/- under protest, which was not replied to by the respondent. Eventually, the respondent vide Instruction Circular no. 7331 dated 04.06.2002, lowered down the eligibility criteria from 25 years to 15 years for sanction of proportionate pension under Old Pension Scheme to retirees under the VRS-2000. In view of this, the appellant again requested vide letter dated 06.08.2002 to the competent authority for the grant of pension under the Old Pension Scheme and the same was rejected in terms of Regulation 46 of the 1979 Regulations. The appellant further made representations before the Chairman and Managing Director of the respondent vide letters dated 16.08.2006 and 19.03.2007, which were rejected by the Assistant General Manager vide letter dated 05.04.2007 on the ground that the appellant was not eligible to claim pension under the Old Pension Scheme in terms of the 1979 Regulations. Being aggrieved, the appellant approached the High Court of Uttarakhand by filing a writ petition under Article 226 of the 5 Constitution of India and the same was partly allowed by the judgment and order dated 25.02.2009, wherein the High Court directed the respondent to pay gratuity to the appellant as per Regulation 46(2) of the 1979 Regulations after adjusting the amount of gratuity already paid to the appellant in terms of Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. The appellant, aggrieved by the Judgment and Order of the High Court in Writ Petition, filed a Review Application, which was rejected vide Order dated 31.03.2009. Aggrieved by these Orders, the appellant is before us in these appeals.

(Emphasis added)

22) In view of the above discussion, the appeals fail and are, accordingly, dismissed. However, we grant liberty to the appellant, if he so desires, to exercise his option to join the 1995 Regulations in terms of instruction Circular No. 11143/PA/2010-11/27 dated 15.09.2010 within 30 days from today. If such an option is exercised by the appellant, the 1 respondents are directed to consider the same sympathetically within 60 days from the date of the option. Parties are directed to bear their own costs.