LexSANJAY SADASHIV BENDRE & ANR. versus THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA & ORS.
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[2025] 3 S.C.R. 1165 : 2025 INSC 400 Sanjay Sadashiv Bendre & Anr. v. The State of Maharashtra & Ors. (Civil Appeal No. 3519 of 2025) 03 March 2025 [Vikram Nath* and Sandeep Mehta, JJ.] Issue for Consideration Issue arose whether the reclassification of Leading Fireman/Tandel under the Recruitment Rules, 2014, as Class III, validly overrides the earlier classification under Appendix A of the MSR 1954, and consequently fixes the retirement age at 58 rather than 60. Headnotes† Municipal Service Regulations, 1954 – reg.66 – Pune Municipal Corporation (Recruitment & Classification of Services) Rules, 2014 – Retirement age – Retirement age of leading fireman/ tandel fixed at 60 years under MSR, 1954 – Retirement age reduced from 60 to 58 years by Recruitment Rules, 2014 – Challenge to – High Court dismissed the petition and held that Recruitment Rules, 2014 must be read harmoniously with MSR, 1954, retirement age at 58 years upheld – Correctness: Held: In the absence of any express legislative or regulatory pronouncement, it would be contrary to established canons of statutory interpretation to conclude that the classification of Leading Fireman/Tandel as Class III in the 2014 Rules negates their statutory right to retire at 60 under the MSR, 1954 – Impetus for changing their retirement to 58 has arisen solely by way of the general classification found in the Recruitment Rules, 2014 – Neither the text nor the legislative history of the 2014 Rules discloses an unequivocal intent to dismantle the 1954 framework on retirement age – Indeed, the 2014 Rules did not specify any new retirement prescriptions; rather, they left service-condition issues to be governed in accordance with existing regulations – To the extent there is any overlap, it must be construed harmoniously, giving due recognition to the specific retirement provisions in the * Author 1166 [2025] 3 S.C.R. Supreme Court Reports MSR, 1954 – Post of Leading Fireman/Tandel continues to be governed by the retirement prescriptions of the MSR, 1954 – Once it is ascertained that Appendix A places them within the “inferior service,” the statutory retirement age for such employees remains 60 – Broad reclassification under the Recruitment Rules, 2014 for recruitment and promotional pathways cannot be read to impliedly curtail the very service condition, retirement age, that is distinctly and comprehensively governed by an existing regulation – High Court erred in concluding that the reclassification under the Recruitment Rules, 2014 automatically confines Leading Fireman/Tandel to the 58 year retirement limit – MSR 1954 scheme for retirement, pursuant to which those in “inferior service” superannuate at 60, stands unaltered in law. [Paras 11, 15, 16] List of Acts Municipal Service Regulations, 1954; Pune Municipal Corporation (Recruitment & Classification of Services) Rules, 2014; Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, 1949. List of Keywords Retirement age; Superior service; Inferior service; Leading fireman/ tandel; Reclassification; Constructed harmoniously; Class of posts; Period of service; Specific regulation; Legislative of regulatory pronouncement; Standing Committee; Statutory interpretation; Municipal Bodies; Power to reorganize or rationalise services. Case Arising From CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 3519 of 2025 From the Judgment and Order dated 02.05.2023 of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay WP No. 1165 of 2021 Appearances for Parties Advs. for the Appellants: C.U. Singh, Uday B. Dube, Sr. Advs., A. Selvin Raja, Susheel Mahadeshwar. Advs. for the Respondents: Ms. Preet S. Phanse, Siddharth Dharmadhikari, Aaditya Aniruddha Pande, Dr. Arvind S. Avhad, Seshatalpa Sai Bandaru. [2025] 3 S.C.R. 1167 Sanjay Sadashiv Bendre & Anr. v. The State of Maharashtra & Ors. Judgment / Order of the Supreme Court Order Vikram Nath, J. 1. Leave granted. 2. By way of the present appeal, the appellants challenge the final judgment dated 02.05.2023 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in Writ Petition No. 1165 of 2021 (hereinafter, “impugned judgment”). The High Court dismissed the writ petition and upheld the retirement age of 58 years for the post of Leading Fireman/Tandel in the Pune Municipal Corporation, contrary to the appellants’ claim that the retirement age should be 60 years under the Municipal Service Regulations, 1954 (“MSR, 1954”). 3. The factual background giving rise to this disp
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