THE SECRETARY (ESTT.) RAILWAY BOARD AND ANR. ETC. versus SH. D. FRANCIS PAUL ETC.

Citation: [1996] SUPP. 3 S.C.R. 578 · Decided: 15-07-1996 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: K. RAMASWAMY · Disposal: Dismissed

Judgment (excerpt)

A· THE SECRETARY (ESTT.) RAILWAY BOARD AND ANR. ETC. 
v. 
B 
c 
D 
E 
SH. D. FRANCIS PAUL ETC. 
JULY 15, 1996 
[K. RAMASWAMY AND G.B. PATTANAIK, JJ.] 
Railway Establishment Manual ll : Rule 2423-A (as amellded 011 
15.11.1976}-Applicability of 
Se1vicc Law-Pension-Railways-Legal Assistallts recmited ill 1963 
and 1964-Superannuatioll in 1989-Computatioll of pension-Addition of 
pe1iod of five yem;, ill computatioll of qualifying se1vice as provided ill Rule 
2423-A-Claim f01-Amendment of Rule Oil 15.11.1976-concession made 
ad111issible only if the recndtn1ent ntles in respect of se1vice contain a specific 
provision that se1vice or post is one 1vhich canies benefit of ntle-Denial of 
benefit of ntie to respondents on the ground that llO specific provision was 
made in the COllditions of se1vice at the time of their appointment-Held llOt 
legal-Held amendmellt does not have retrospective effect-Rule held ap-
plicable to those calldidates only who were appointed after the date 
of 
an1e11d111ent introducing the proviso. 
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Special Leave Petition (C) 
No. 14890 of 1996 Etc. 
From the Judgment and Order dated 6.12.95 of the Central Ad-
F ministrative Tribunal, Hyderabad in 0.A. No. 365 of 1994. 
G 
R. Venugopal Reddy, A.D.N. Rao and Arvind Kr. Sharma for the 
appearing parties. 
The following Order of the Court was delivered : 
Delay Condoned. 
The two petitioners in these cases, were recruited as legal assistants 
after having put in more than 8 years practice at the Bar. One was recruited 
on April 24, 1963 and the other on .I uly 3, 1964. After putting in qualifying 
H service of 25 years, they retired from service on June 13, 1989 and March 
578 
SECY. (ESTf.) RL Y. BD. v. D. FRANCIS PAUL 
579 
31, 1992 respectively. They relied upon Rule 2423-A of the Railway Estab-
A 
lishment Mannual II claiming addition of 5 years qualifying service for 
computation of their pension. The Tribunal in the impugned orders dated 
6.12.l 995 allowed the applications and directed computation thereof. The 
same are assailed in their applications. 
Rule 2423-A reads thus: 
"2423-A (C.S.R. 404-B): An Officer appointed to a service or post 
on or after !st April, 1968 may add to his service qualifying for 
superannuation pension (but not for any other class of pension) 
the actual period not exceeding one-fourth the length of his service 
or the actual period by which his age at the time of recruitment 
exceeds t\vent y-five years or a period of five years, whichever is 
the least, if the service or post is one : 
B 
c 
(a) for which post-graduate research or specialist qualification, or 
experience in scientific, technological or professional fields, is 
D 
essential and 
(b) to which candidates of more than twenty five years of age are 
normally recruited. 
Provided that this concession shall not be admissible to any such 
officer unless his actual qualifying service at the. time he quits 
Government Service is not less than ten years. 
Provided further that any such officer who is recruited at the age 
of thirty-five years or more may, within a period of three months 
from the date of his appointment, elect to forego his rights to 
pension where under he shall be eligible to subscribe to the State 
Railway Provident Found as a non-pensionable employee." 
The amended rule reads thus : 
''The above Rule was amended as can be seen from the Railway 
Ministry's letter No. F (E) IIl/76 PNI 12 dated 15.11.76, whereby 
an additional proviso was added to the rule as Under : 
Provided further that this concession shall be admissible only if 
E 
F 
G 
the recruitment rules in respect of the said service/post contain a H 
580 
A 
B 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1996] SUPP. 3 S.C.R. 
specific provision that the service or post is one which carries the 
benefit of this rule. 
(2) A railway servant who is recruited at the age of thirty-five years 
or more, may within a period of three months from the date of his 
appointment, elect to forgo his right to pension, whereupon he 
shall be eligible to subscribe to the State Railway provident Fund 
as a non-pensionable emplbyee. 
(3) The option referred to in sub-rule (2) once exercised, shall be 
final.
1
·
1 
C 
Relying upon this proviso by later amendment, it is contended that 
since no specific pro,;sion was made in the conditions of service at the time 
of appointment, the respondents are not entitled to the benefit of the rule. 
It is not in dispute that the rule came to be amen

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