UNION OF INDIA & ORS. versus RAKESH KUMAR & ORS.

Citation: [2017] 3 S.C.R. 783 · Decided: 24-03-2017 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: A.K. SIKRI · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Cited by 1 judgment(s) · cites 2 · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

[2017] 3 S.C.R. 783 
UNION OF INDIA & ORS. 
v. 
RAKESH KUMAR & ORS. 
(Civil Appeal No. 3938 of 2017) 
MARCH 24, 2017 
[A. K. SIKRI AND ASHOK BHUSHAN, JJ.) 
Service Law - Pensionary benefits - Whether the entire service 
of a casual worker after obtaining temporary status till his regular 
absorption on a post is entitled to be reckoned for pensionary benefit 
or only 50 per cent period of such service can be reckoned for 
pensionary benefit - Held: Casual worker after obtaining temporary 
status is entitled to reckon 50% of his services till he is regularised 
on a regular/temporary post for the purposes of calculation of 
pension - The casw'i worker before obtaining the temporary status 
A 
B 
c 
is also entitled to reckon 50% of casual service for purposes of D 
pension - Those casual workers who are appointed to any post 
either substantively or in officiating or in temporary capacity are 
entitled to reckon the entir.e period from date of taking charge to 
such post as per r.20 of Rules, 1993 - In deserving case, it is open 
to Pension Sanctioning Authority to recommend for relaxation to 
E 
the Railway Board for dispensing with or relaxing requirement of 
any rule with regard to those casual workers who have been 
subsequently absorbed against the post and do not fulfill the 
requirement of existing rule for grant of pension - Railway Service 
(Pension) Rules, 1993 - r.20. 
Railway Service (Pension) Rules, 1993 - r.20 -Applicability 
of - Held: r.20 is not attracted in a case where only a temporary 
status is granted to casual worker and no appointment is made in 
any capacity against any post. 
Allowing the appeals, the Court 
F 
G 
HELD: 1. A perusal of para 20 of the Master Circular no.54 
indicates that only half of the period of service of a casual labour 
after attainment of temporary status on completion of 120 days 
continuous service if it is followed by absorption in service as a_,_. 
regular Railway employee, counts for pensionary benefits. Para 
H 
783 
784 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2017) 3 S.C.R. 
A 2005 of Indian Railway Establishment Manual also contains the 
same scheme for reckoning the period for pensionary benefit. 
The heading of Para 2005 enumerates the privileges admissible 
to casual labour who are treated as temporary. [Paras 28-30) (796-
C-F) 
B 
2. Rule 20 of Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993 
provides that qualifying service shall commence from the date 
the employee takes charge of the post to which he is first 
appointed either substantively or in an officiating or temporary 
capacity. Rule 20 is attracted when a person is appointed to the 
post in any of the above capacities. Rule 20 has no application 
C when appointment is not against any post. When a casual labour 
is granted a temporary status, grant of a status confers various 
privileges as enumerated in para 2005 of IREM. One of the 
benefits enumerated in para 2005 sub clause(a) is also to make 
him eligible to count only half of the services rendered by him 
D after attaining temporary status. Rule 20 is thus clearly not 
attracted in a case where only a temporary status is granted to 
casual worker and no appointment is made in any capacity against 
any post.[Para 40)[802-A-C) 
3. The Proviso to Rule 20 has to be read along with the 
E 
main Rule 20, when main Rule 20 contemplates commencement 
of qualifying service from the date he takes charge of the post, 
the appointment to a post is implicit and a condition precedent. 
The proviso puts another different condition that officiating or 
temporary service is followed, without interruption, by 
substantive appointment in the same or another service or post. 
F 
The proviso cannot be read independent to the main provision 
nor it can mean that by only grant of temporary status a casual 
employee is entitled to reckon his service of temporary status 
for purpose of pensionary benefit. [Para 42)[802-G-H; 803-A-B] 
4. The grant of temporary status of casual labour is not akin 
G to appointment against a post and such contingency is not covered 
by Rule 20 and the same is expressly covered by Rule 31 which 
provides for "half the service paid from contingencies shall be 
taken into account for calculating pensionary benefits on 
absorption in regular employment subject to certain conditions 
H enumerated there in." Thus Rule 31 is clearly applicable while 
UNION OF INDIA v. RAKESH KUMAR & ORS. 
785 
computing the eligible services for calculating pensionary benefits A 
on g

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