Kerala Service Rules | No Claim To Pension When An Employee Is Appointed For A Limited Period, Say Against Leave Vacancy: High Court

The Kerala High Court recently observed that according to Rule 4 and Rule 14E(a) of Kerala Service Rules no claim to pension is admissible when an employee is appointed for a limited period and that the period of regular full time service of a pensioner in an aided school alone shall be reckoned as qualifying service for pension. 

Division Bench consisting of Justice P. B. Suresh Kumar and Justice C. S. Sudha observed that,

The appointments of the petitioner in the leave vacancies can be regarded only as appointments for a limited time and in light of Rule 4 of Part III KSR, no claim to pension is admissible for the services rendered by the petitioner in the said vacancies, especially in light of the clarification made in Rule 14E(a) that only regular full time aided school service shall be reckoned for pension.

Brief Factual Matrix 

The petitioner in this case was appointed as a full-time menial in an aided school but was thrown out of service for want of requisite student strength in 1990. Though the petitioner was reappointed in a few leave vacancies in the School after that, he was appointed in a substantive vacancy in the School only in 2000. The Petitioner retired in 2021 and in the verification report issued by the office of the Accountant General (A&E) in connection with the sanctioning of pensionary benefits to the petitioner, the qualifying service of the petitioner was shown only as 23 years, excluding the interruptions and the service rendered in leave vacancies.

The petitioner averred that the interruptions and the service rendered by him in leave vacancies are also liable to be reckoned as qualifying service for the grant of pensionary benefits.

The Writ Petition was filed challenging the verification report insofar as it limits his qualifying service for pension to 23 years, and seeking a declaration that his qualifying service for pension would be 30 years 11 months and 14 days.

The State in its counter affidavit had submitted that in light of the amendments made to Rule 14E(a) of Part III of the Kerala Service Rules (KSR), the interruptions and the service rendered by the petitioner in leave vacancies are not liable to be reckoned as qualifying service for pension. 

Single Judge took the view that services rendered by the petitioner in leave vacancies are liable to be reckoned as qualifying service. Aggrieved by the order, the Writ Appeal was preferred by the State. 

Contentions Raised

Government Pleader submitted before the Court that there is no provision in Part III KSR which enables the petitioner to reckon the interruptions in service as also the services rendered in leave vacancies as qualifying service for pension. Government Pleader pointed out that Rule 14E of Part III KSR specifically provides that only regular full-time aided school service shall qualify for pensionary benefits, indicating clearly that service in a leave vacancy is not liable to be reckoned for grant of the pensionary benefit. 

On the contrary, the Counsel appearing for Petitioner (in the Writ Petition) contended that the as petitioner was granted increments and time bound higher grades, reckoning the services rendered by the petitioner in leave vacancies, it cannot be said that the said service cannot be reckoned as qualifying service for pension. 

Findings of the Court

The Court pointed out that Rule 3 of Chapter XXVII B of the Kerala Education Rules provides that the rules on retirement benefits and all the conditions for grant of the same as applicable to Government servants, laid down in Part III KSR shall apply to the teachers of aided schools as well.

The Court therefore on a combined reading of Rule 4 of Part III KSR which provides that no claim to pension is admitted when an employee is appointed for a limited time only, on the completion of which he is to be discharged and Rule 14E(a) of Part III KSR, observed that no claim to pension is admissible when an employee is appointed for a limited period and that the period of regular full-time service of a pensioner in an aided school alone shall qualify for a pension. 

The Court observed that the appointments of the petitioner in the leave vacancies can be regarded only as appointments for a limited time and in light of Rule 4 of Part III KSR, no claim to pension is admissible for the services rendered by the petitioner in the said vacancies.

Needless to say, the petitioner is not entitled to reckon the services rendered by him in leave vacancies as qualifying service for pension, the Court said. 

Furthermore, the Court observed that the view taken by the Single Judge that the services rendered by the petitioner in leave vacancies are liable to be reckoned as qualifying service since the same were rendered after his initial regular appointment is unsustainable in law as it does not have the backing of any statutory provision.

The Court also rejected the contention raised by the petitioner that inasmuch as the petitioner has been granted increments and time bound higher grades reckoning the services rendered by him in leave vacancies, he is entitled to reckon the same as qualifying service for pension. Court said that increments and placements in higher grades are governed by a different set of rules, and merely for the reason that the service rendered in leave vacancies are reckoned for the purpose of grant of increments or for placements in higher grades, it cannot be said that the same shall be reckoned for the purpose of grant of pensionary benefits as well.

The Court thereby allowed the Writ Appeal, setting aside the impugned judgment. 

Case Title: State of Kerala and Ors. v. Raveendran Pillai S and Anr. 

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Ker) 16

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