The case
- An SC Bench delivered verdict in the case of a college teacher who had pleaded for inclusion of his service in a school while calculating pension and other retirement benefits
- The Madhya Pradesh HC had accepted his plea and directed the state government to pay him higher retirement benefits. The state had come to the SC challenging the HC ruling
R Sedhuraman
Legal Correspondent
New Delhi, February 16
The Supreme Court today ruled that government servants had no right to
claim pension and gratuity for the jobs they had quit to take up better
posts. A Bench comprising Justices FMI Kalifulla and Abhay Manohar Sapre delivered the verdict in the case of a college teacher who had pleaded for inclusion of his service in a school while calculating his pension and other retirement benefits.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court had accepted his plea and directed the state government to pay him higher retirement benefits. Challenging the HC ruling, the state had come to the SC.
Hitkishore Goswami had joined the School Education Department as a botany lecturer in 1963 and quit this job in 1965 after clearing the MP Public Service Commission examination for the post of lecturer and subsequently retired in 2004.
He then pleaded that his service as a school teacher should also be considered for computing his pension, gratuity and other retirement benefits. Setting aside the HC verdict, the apex court ruled that Goswami was not entitled to claim any retirement benefit for his past services from July 2, 1963 to January 2, 1996 as a government school teacher. The effect of resignation was that the relationship between the parties insofar as that particular employment was concerned got severed for all purposes leaving no benefit to remain in his favour.
SOURCE:The Tribune
