The Allahabad High Court dismissed a writ petition filed by a retired daily wager working as a Chowkidar with the Gorakhpur Development Authority, seeking pension and retiral benefits under the 2011 Retirement Benefits Rules. The Court held that the petitioner’s daily wage service prior to regularisation could not be counted for pension purposes in light of a pending larger bench reference on the issue.
The petitioner argued that he was appointed on the post of Chowkidar on a daily-wage basis with the Gorakhpur Development Authority and was later retrenched. He contended that his total service, including the period spent as a daily wager, should be counted for pension and other retiral benefits. In support, he relied on Uttar Pradesh Development Authorities Non-Centralized Services Retirement Benefits Rules, 2011, and placed reliance on the judgement of the Supreme Court in Prem Singh vs. State of U.P.[1] and Anand Prakash Mani Tripathi vs. State of U.P.[2] and requested the Court to direct the authorities to grant him pension accordingly.
However, the Court ruled that the petitioner had not completed qualifying service of 20 years as required under Rules, 2011, after his regularisation, and therefore, under a strict interpretation of the said Rules, no relief could be granted. It further highlighted the definitions of the terms ‘pensionable post’ and ‘the qualifying service’ as provided under the 2011 Rules, and noted that the petitioner, a daily wager, did not meet the requirements to be eligible for pensionary benefits. The Court upheld the respondents’ reliance on Kanhai Ram vs. State of U.P. 2024:AHC:52835 which is still under consideration by a larger bench, and that any other interpretation would not be legally permissible.
Accordingly, Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery disposed of the writ petition, observing that the petitioner may pursue an appropriate legal remedy depending on the outcome of the pending reference in Kanhai Ram.
Appearances:
Petitioner :- Ashok K Pandey,Shrish Kumar Jaiswal
Respondent :- C.S.C., Santosh Kumar Singh
[1] Prem Singh vs. State of U.P., 2019(10) SCC 516
[2] Anand Prakash Mani Tripathi vs. State of Uttar Pradesh, MANU/SCOR/64543/2024
