Court No. - 29 Case :- WRIT - A No. - 4785 of 2010 Petitioner :- Dr. Smt. Madhu Basra Respondent :- State Of U.P. & Others Petitioner Counsel :- N.K. Tripathi Respondent Counsel :- C.S.C. Hon'ble Satya Poot Mehrotra,J.
Hon’ble Kashi Nath Pandey,J.
Heard Sri N.K. Tripathi, learned counsel for the petitioner and Sri Pankaj
Saxena, learned Standing Counsel appearing for the respondents.
The learned counsel for the parties are agreed that the controversy involved in
the present Writ Petition is covered by the earlier decisions of this Court,
referred to hereinafter in the present Judgment, and therefore, the present Writ
Petition may be decided at this stage itself.
As per the averments made in the Writ Petition, the petitioner is working on
the post of Reader and Head of the Department in Economics in Naval
Kishore Bhartiya Girls P.G. College, Moradabad. The date of birth of the
petitioner is 15.12.1948, and she is to attain the age of superannuation on
14.12.2010, and is due to retire on 30.6.2011 after getting Session benefit.
It is, interalia, stated in the Writ Petition that the aforesaid College is affiliated
to Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohil Khand University, Bareilly.
It appears that initially the petitioner opted for Contributory Provident Fund
Scheme (CPF). However, by the Option Letter dated 1.9.2009 (Annexure 9 to
the Writ Petition), the petitioner sought to change her option from
Contributory Provident Fund Scheme (CPF) to General Provident Fund
Scheme (GPF) with Pension. The said Option Letter was submitted by the
petitioner pursuant to the Government Order dated 25.8.1999 (Annexure 5 to
the Writ Petition).
It is, interalia, prayed in the Writ Petition that writ, order or direction in the
nature of mandamus be issued directing the respondents to accord the benefit
of GPF plus Pension Scheme to the petitioner in accordance with the
Government Order dated 25.8.1999, and various decisions of this Court.
Facts relevant for deciding the present Writ Petition are as under.
The State Government from time to time has issued Government Orders
permitting the teachers to exercise their options for switching over from
Contributory Provident Fund Scheme (CPF) to General Provident Fund
Scheme (GPF) with Pension.
The last such Government Order was issued on 25.8.1999 (Annexure 5 to the
Writ Petition) which permitted the teachers to exercise their options before
one year of their retirement. However, by the Government Order dated
5/6.5.2000 (Annexure 6 to the Writ Petition), a clarification was issued that
option could be exercised only by such teachers, who were governed under
the General Provident Fund Scheme and not under the Contributory Provident
Fund Scheme.
It appears that this Court in Civil Misc. Writ Petition NO. 25140 of 2001 (Dr.
Shri Gopal Gupta and others Vs. State of U.P and others) considered the
aforesaid Government Orders dated 25.8.1999 and 5/6.5.2000, and held by the
Judgment and Order dated 26th October, 2006 as follows:
“….The policy of the Government providing benefit of GPF plus pension Scheme at no point of
time denied the benefits to those teachers who had not opted for the said scheme prior to 25th
August, 1999 or during the period prescribed either in the Government Order of 1980 or 1982.
Since the scheme remained in existence and time for giving option was extended from time to
time, the interpretation given by the State to the aforesaid Government order dated 25 th August,
1999 and the clarifications dated 5th June, 2000 and 12th July, 2000 cannot be sustained in the
eyes of law.
The petitioners who had applied/opted for GPF plus pension scheme though they were covered
under the CPF scheme, one year before their date of retirement i.e. during the extended period as
per the Government Order dated 25th August, 1999 could not have been refused the said benefit
on the ground that the aforesaid scheme/option was open only for those teachers who are
covered by the GPF scheme……..”
Copy of the said Judgment and Order dated 26th October, 2006 has been filed
as Annexure 7 to the Writ Petition.
It further appears that the State Government filed a Special Leave Petition
before the Supreme Court being Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (Civil)
No. 722 of 2008.
By the Order dated 3.11.2008 (Annexure 8 to the Writ Petition), their
Lordships of the Supreme Court dismissed the said Special Leave Petition.
Thus, the aforesaid Judgment and Order dated 26th October, 2006 became
final.
This position has not been disputed by the learned Standing Counsel.
In our opinion, the petitioner in the present Writ Petition, who exercised her
option by the Option Letter dated 1.9.2009 (Annexure 9 to the Writ Petition)
in terms of the Government Order dated 25.8.1999, is entitled to the benefit of
GPF Scheme with Pension.
As noted earlier, the petitioner is due to retire on 30th June, 2011, and
therefore, the option exercised by the petitioner by the Option Letter dated
1.9.2009 has been exercised as per the requirement of the said Government
Order dated 25.8.1999.
We may mention that in Civil Misc. Writ Petition No. 13169 of 2008 (Kirti
Chand Gupta and others Vs. State of U.P. and others) connected with
various other Writ Petitions, similar controversy was involved. A Division
Bench of this Court by its Judgment and Order dated 16th April, 2009
(Annexure 10 to the Writ Petition) decided the said Writ Petitions following
the decision of this Court in Dr. Shri Gopal Gupta (supra), and gave
directions to the respondents in the said Writ Petitions for extending the
benefit of the said Government Order dated 25th August, 1999 to the
petitioners in the said Writ Petitions.
Respectfully following the above decisions, we decide the present Writ
Petition giving similar directions.
The Writ Petition is accordingly allowed.
The respondents are directed to give benefit of the Government Order dated
25th August, 1999 in terms of the option exercised by the petitioner within
three months of the filing of the certified copy of this Order before the
Director of Higher Education, Uttar Pradesh, Allahabad.
On the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the parties will bear their
own costs.
Order Date :- 1.2.2010
Ajeet