STATE OF ORISSA AND ORS. versus ADWAIT CHARAN MOHANTY ETC. ETC.

Citation: [1995] 1 S.C.R. 614 · Decided: 27-01-1995 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: K. RAMASWAMY · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Judgment (excerpt)

.... 
A 
ST ATE OF ORISSA AND ORS. 
v. 
ADWAIT CHARAN MOHANTY ETC. ETC. 
JANUARY 27, 1995 · 
B 
[K. RAMASWAMY AND N. VENKATAC(HALA, JJ.] 
Ser:vice--Law-Orissa Setvice Cod~ule 71(a), second proviso-Age 
of superannuation-Government employee~Retirement on completion of 58 
years. of age-An artisan workman working in an industrial or workcharged 
C establishment but at par with Class IV employee-He is to retire on attaining 
age of 60 year~Such an mtisan workman must be on monthly pay of govern-
ment-Word 'attisan '-Meaning. 
All the respondents were working in various departments of the 
appellant State as Class Ill employees. On attaining the age of superan· 
D nuation of 58 years, when they were sought to be retired, they·approached. 
the Administrative Tribunal, claiming the benefit of extented age of super· ·. 
annuation under second proviso to Rule 71(a) of the Orissa Service <;:ode, 
contending that they were workmen within the meaning of the Code. The 
. Tribunal held that they were workmen a~d entitled to continue in service 
E until they attained the age of 60 years. Hence these appeals. 
On behalf of ihe State it was ·contended that all the· respondents 
belong to respective subordinate services of the State governed by the 
Orissa Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1962, 
framed under Articl~ 309 of the Constitution. According to the appellant 
F an artis.an essentially was one who was :J>roducing an article of some kind 
with the help of tools. It was alleged that none Of.the respondents could be 
treated to be an artisan, therefore, they were riot entitled to continue in 
service up~p the age of 60 years. It was contended that the workman, must, 
of necessity, by reason of 9efinition, meant one working in an industrial 
G or workcharged establishment of the Government. None of the respon-
dents was continuing either in an .industrial establishment or a 
workcharged establishment, and the Tribunal committed·grietous error of 
law in directing that the respondents shall be retained in service tilll they 
attained th.e a1;1e of 60 years. 
. 
H 
The respondents submitted t~~t any government employee, be he 
614 
,.. 
STATE OF ORISSA v. AC. MOHANTY 
615 
highly skilled, skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled, sho~ld be given the benefit A 
of the superannuation of 60 years envisaged by the exception to the general 
rule in the second proviso to Rule 71(a) of the Orissa Service Code. It was 
argued that the industrial establishment must be understood broadly and 
not in a technical sense. It was prayed that exercising the power under 
Article _136, the Supreme Court must decline to interfere with the benefit B 
given· by the Tribunal. 
The question raised for determination was whether the respondents 
were entitled to the benefit of superannuation age of 60 years under the 
second proviso to Rule 71(a) of the Code. 
· 
Allowing the appeals, this Court 
HELD: 1.1. Rule 71(a) of the Orissa Service Code and the second 
proviso and the note appended to it must be read together harm~niously 
c 
to give effect to every part of it. It would indicate that class I, II and III 
government servants shall retire on attaining the age of 58 years and class D 
IV employees are excluded from its operation. The highly skilled, skilled, 
semi-skilled or unskilled workman artisan working in an industrial estab-
lishment or workcharged establishment of the government and governed 
by the statutory rules also are 'given the benefit of the age of superannua-
tion on attaining the age of 60 years on par with the Class IV employees. E 
Having given the benefit of that class, the workman, be it highly skilled, 
sk,illed, semi skilled or unskilled, must be an artisan and is on monthly 
rate of pay working in industrial or workcharged establishment of the 
government. Such government servant also appear to have intended to be 
given the benefit of superannuation age of 60 years. [622·B·D] 
1.2. The word 'artisan', therefore, has to be understood in common 
parlance in a wider sense as an art or an artist or one employed in any of 
F 
the industrial art or produces an article of commercial value or utility with 
manual dexterity, either by mannual labour or with the help of tools or 
machine and brings into existence a product for the sale or service. An G 
element of not only creativity would be applied to bring into existence an " 
article or commercial goods with dexterity employing manual or technical 
labour or wit

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