Pensioners To Be Handled With Sympathy, Doctrine Of Delay & Laches Not Thumb Rule Where No Third Party Rights Created: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has held that observed that the State pensioners have to be handled with sympathy and that doctrine of delay and laches per se cannot defeat the legitimate right of a citizen in a case where no third party rights are created.

Observing thus, a division bench of Justice Krishna S Dixit and Justice G Basavaraja partly allowed the petition filed by one Seethalaxmi who had approached the court grieving the denial of one solitary increment which avails to all civil servants who have studied in Kannada Medium upto SSLC with Kannada as one of subjects in the syllabus.

The court said,

“Law does not come to the aid of sleepy & tardy, is true. However, it is notable that our Constitution does not prescribe any limitation period for tapping the Writ Jurisdiction...the doctrine of delay & latches being a judicial invention to turn down belated claims. This doctrine per se cannot defeat a legitimate right of a citizen, when no third party rights are created, since it does not operate as a Thumb Rule."

The petitioner argued that not extending the benefit singularly to her is discriminatory and therefore violative of Article 14 of the Constitution. The money payable as salary & emoluments are a property of the employee and therefore not paying amounts to violation of constitutional guarantee under Article 300A, it was contended.

The government opposed the plea on the grounds of delay and laches, the petitioner having already retired from service in October 2019.

The bench noted that admittedly, the petitioner had studied upto SSLC in Kannada Medium and Kannada happened to be one of the subjects in the syllabus. "There is no dispute that such employees need not pass Kannada Language Examination, which others have to, for availing said increment. The said benefit has been accorded by the Tribunal to similar circumstanced persons in Application Nos. 11022/2016 c/w 1881/2019 & 2754/2019 that were disposed off by a common order dated 22.08.2019. One such order was put in challenge in W.P.No.13242/2021 (S-KSAT) between STATE OF KARNATAKA vs. SMT. P.SHOBHA disposed off on 23.10.2021 negativing the challenge."

Therefore, the Court said, what applies to goose should apply to gander on the principle of parity enacted in Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

Rejecting the contention of the respondents of delays and laches in filing the petition, the court said, “We have seen the benefit of one KLE increment being given to similarly circumstanced employees in other identical institutions. The Tribunal decided the dispute relating to increment in Application No.9334/2015 vide order dated 16.11.2017. The petitioner who was on the verge of retirement got her claim rejected by the Department on 27.10.2020 i.e., soon after her retirement. She had approached the Tribunal in Application No.597/2021. The Co-ordinate Bench decided Shobha's case only on 23.10.2021. Even State's SLP No.1668/2022 came to be rejected on 18.02.2022.”

Thus it held it cannot be said that the petitioner was a speculative litigant. "She was fighting for her legitimate right to get the increment which is her property in the light of Article 300A of the Constitution,” Court said.

It also noted that the value of KLE increment is only Rs.2,900. "It is just nothing these days when bread is costlier than blood," Court remarked. It added that equity can be worked out by confining the claim of the petitioner to three years preceding the KAT Application that was filed in February 2021.

In parting, Court said it cannot be oblivious to the fact that who is before the Court is a poor lady who has served the State for about three decades on not much attractive salary. "She did it in a very humble post namely Pre Primary School Teacher; may be she has shaped the fate of many children as 'School Maatha' in the Government School. She has retired from service and is drawing a not much pretty pension. The evening of life poses age related difficulties which may be arguably mitigated with the aid of money. Denying any relief in its entirety would do great injustice to the pensioner.”

Finally, it directed the concerned education department to sanction one Kannada Language Examination increment to the petitioner w.e.f. February 2018 and pay the arrears of incremental value and further to re-fix and pay pension & all terminal benefits including arrears to the Petitioner within an outer limit of three months.

Appearance: Advocate Vighneshwar S Shastri for Advocate Gururaj R for Petitioner.

AGA Khamroz Khan for Respondents.

Citation No: 2024 LiveLaw (Kar) 72

Case Title: Seethalaxmi AND State of Karnataka & Others

Case No: Writ Petition No 3674 OF 2022

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