IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
WP(C).No. 1390 of 2010(W)
1. S.V.UNNIKRISHNAN NAIR, `KRISHNA',
... Petitioner
Vs
1. STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY
... Respondent
2. THE ACCOUNTANT GENERAL (A & E) KERALA,
3. THE DIRECTOR OF PANCHAYATS,
For Petitioner :SRI.S.M.PRASANTH
For Respondent :GOVERNMENT PLEADER
The Hon'ble MR. Justice S.SIRI JAGAN
Dated :28/01/2011
O R D E R
S. SIRI JAGAN, J.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
W.P.(C)No. 1390 of 2010
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dated this the 28th day of January, 2011
J U D G M E N T
The petitioner retired from service of the Government
of Kerala on 31.05.1985 as Taluk Panchayat Officer.
Subsequent to the retirement of the petitioner, the post of
Taluk Panchayat Officer was abolished. According to the
petitioner, while he was in service the post of Taluk
Panchayat Officer was a promotion post for the post of
Special Executive Officer/Special Grade Secretary. The
petitioner submits that the pension now he is getting is only
equivalent to the pension payable to a Special Grade
Secretary which was a lower post to the post of Taluk
Panchayat Officer, which the petitioner was holding at the
time of his retirement. The petitioner contends that the
same is a very serious anomaly affecting the fundamental
rights of the petitioner under Articles 14 & 16 of the
Constitution of India. According to the petitioner, since the
W.P.(C)No. 1390 of 2010
-2-
post of Taluk Panchayat Officer was a higher post to that as
Special Grade Secretary that difference should reflect in the
retirement benefits payable also. The petitioner would
contend that in the special circumstances of the case the
petitioner should have been paid pension corresponding to
the pension being payable to the next higher post of
Assistant Director of Panchayat.
2. The learned Government Pleader would submit
that, the method of computing pension in respect of posts
which were abolished after retirement of the incumbent is
laid down in paragraph 3.9 of G.O.(P) No.180/06/Fin dated
18.04.2006 which reads as follows:
“3.9. If the post held by the pensioner at the time of
retirement/death while in service is no longer in existence in the
Department from which he retired or if the entire categories to
which the pensioner belonged have moved over to other scales
of pay (such as, for example, UGC/AICTE/Central Judicial
Service scales) after his retirement/death while in service or if
the designation of the post has changed in such a way that it is
no longer possible to ascertain as to which is the revised scale
corresponding to the post from which the pensioner/employee
retired/died while in service, the revised basic pension shall be
fixed based on the corresponding scale of pay, over successive
pay revisions, as indicated in Schedule 3.”
The learned Government Pleader points out that, in view of
W.P.(C)No. 1390 of 2010
-3-
the peculiar situation, the petitioner is being paid pension in
accordance with the revised scale of pay corresponding to
the scale of pay the petitioner was receiving as Taluk
Panchayat Officer and the petitioner cannot aspire to get
anything more. But the counsel for the petitioner submits
that, that pension is only equivalent to the pension payable
to the Special Grade Secretary which according to the
petitioner is an anomaly which requires to be corrected
appropriately.
3. I am not going into the merits of the rival
contentions insofar as the petitioner has already invoked
the jurisdiction of the Government in the matter by filing
Ext.P1 representation. For the present the petitioner would
be satisfied with a direction to the 1st respondent to
consider and pass orders on Ext.P1 as expeditiously as
possible.
In the facts and circumstances of the case, I dispose of
this writ petition with a direction to the 1st respondent to
consider and pass orders on Ext.P1 as expeditiously as
W.P.(C)No. 1390 of 2010
-4-
possible, at any rate within a period of three months from
the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment, after
affording an opportunity of being heard to the petitioner.
Sd/-
S. SIRI JAGAN
JUDGE
//True copy//
P.A. TO JUDGE
shg/