STATE OF PUNJAB AND ANR. versus IQBAL SINGH

Citation: [1976] 3 S.C.R. 360 · Decided: 12-02-1976 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: A.C. GUPTA · Disposal: Dismissed

Cited by 4 judgment(s) · cites 2 · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

360 
A 
STATE OF PUNJAB AND ANR. 
v. 
IQBAL SINGH 
February 12, 1976 
[A. C. GUPTA AND JASWANT SINGH, JJ.] 
B 
f'iiujab ('ii·il Service Rules-r. 6.4-Retired Goverrunent servar1t-Pensio11 
c 
D 
F 
G 
H 
and death-cum-retiren1e111 gratuitv reduced by Govenunent on the ;::round that 
service record not satisfactory-Pension, if a bounty paid by Go1'ernment-
lf property under Arts 31(1) and 19(1)(/) of the Constifution-lf reasonable 
oppr,rlunity of 1naking defence should be given before reducing the pension. 
Constitution of l ndia-Art. 311 (2 )--Applicability of. 
Purporting to act under r. 6.4 of the Puniab Civil Service Rules. the State 
imposed a cut of 5 per cent on the pension and death-cun1-retirement gratuity 
of the respondent, who \Vas a retired government servant, on the ground that 
his service record was not satisfactory. The High Court allowed the respondent's 
\vrit petition challenging the decision of the Governmellt. 
Dismissing the appeal of the State, 
HELD : The ground that superannuation pension is a bounty and is given 
as an act of grace is not available to the appellant. In Deoki Nandan Prasad 
v. The State of Bihm·, [197I] Supp. S.C.R. 634, it was held by this Court (1) 
that pension is not a bounty payable, on the sweet will and pleasure of t~e 
(jovernment and the right of a Government servant to receive it is property 
under Art. 31 ( 1) of the Constitution, and so the State cannot withhold the 
same by a mere executive order; and (2) the claim to pension is 
property 
under Art. 19(1) (f) of the Constitution and is not saved by .cl. (5) of Art. 
19. 
[362C-D] 
(2) Though the impt1gned order imposing the cut in pension and gratuity 
is not one of reduction in rank falling within the purview of Art. 311 (2), 
yet there can be no doubt that it adversely affected the respondent and such 
an order could not have been passed without giving him a reasoNable opportu-
nity of making his defence. 
[362G] 
State of Punjab v. K. R. Erry & Sabha;:: Rai Mehta [19731 2 S.C.R. 405. 
applied. 
(3) M. \Tarc1.1hnachar '" The State of Mysore [1960} 1 S.C.R. 981, is in-
applicable to this case because the point as to whether an opportunity to show 
cause was to be afforded to a retired Government servant before applying the 
cut in his pension in view of the principle.if natural justice of audi alteram 
partem was never urged or gone into in that case, nor was the question whether 
pension was a bounty or property arose in that case. 
[364 D-E] 
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 1203 of 1968. 
From the order dated the 4-4-1967 of the Punjab and Haryana 
High Court in L.P.A. No. 104 of 1967. 
0. P, Sharma, for the appellant. 
H. K. Puri and M. C. Dhingra, for the respondent. 
The Jndgment of the Court was delivered by 
JASWANT SINGH, J.-This appeal by certificate of fitness 
granted 
by the Punjab and Haryana High Court is directed against the judg-
ment dated April 4, 1967 of a Division Bench of that Court passed 
in Letters Patent Appeal No. 104 of 1967 whereby the judgment and 
order dated December 19, 1966 of N arula, J. (as he then was) 
in 
Civil Writ Petition No. 298 of 1966 was affirmed. 
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PUNJAB v. IQBAL SINGH (Jaswant Singh, J.) 
3 ti l 
It appears that the respondent joined the 
Punjab 
Education 
Department (Class II) Service by direct recruitment as senior lecturer 
in 1933. 
He was promoted to Punjab Education Service 
(Class 
I) on October 1, 1949. 
He was given the selection grade 
with 
effect from February 15, 1956 and in due course rose to the position 
of Director of Public Instruction-cum-Secretary to the Government 
of Punjab, Education Department. 
He proceeded on leave prepara-
tory to retirement on March 18, 1958, on attaining the age of super-
annuation. In June, 1961, he received a copy of letter No. 5137-
Ed-I-60/9269 dated May 2, 1961 addressed by the 
Secretary to 
Government, Punjab, Education Department, to the Director of Pub-
lic Instruction, Punjab, Chandigarh, conveying the sanction of 
the 
Governor of Punjab to the grant to him i.e. the respondent of super· 
annuation pension and death-cum-retirement gratuity of Rs. 417.02 np. 
per menscm and Rs. 17,030.25 np in lump sum respectively 
under rules 5.27 and 6.13 of the Punjab Civil Service Rules, Vol. II 
read with para 9(1) (a) of the New Pension Rules, 1951. It was 
stated in the aforesaid letter that personal file of the respondent had 
been examined with reference to rule 6.4 of the Punjab Civil 

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