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Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation & Ors. vs Sadhu Singh

Civil Appeal · 2022 INSC 149Decided 4 Feb 2022
Civil Appeal No. 1058 of 2022
Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud · Surya Kant

Background

The respondent was a bus conductor with the Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation who was compulsorily retired in 2003 after facing 19 disciplinary charge-sheets and penalties over his career. Seven years later, in 2010, he filed a civil suit seeking "Selection Grade" pay benefits (an incremental pay scale given on completing 9, 18, and 27 years of service). The trial court and two appellate courts, including the High Court, ruled in his favour, granting him the benefit.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court reversed, holding the suit was barred by limitation since it was filed seven years after retirement, well beyond the three-year residuary limitation period under the Limitation Act. On merits, the Court also held that Selection Grade benefits under the governing scheme are available only to employees with a "satisfactory" and clean service record, relying on its earlier ruling in State of Rajasthan v. Shankar Lal Parmar. Since the respondent had been penalised 19 times during his career, his record could not be considered clean or untainted, regardless of whether some individual penalties were minor or non-cumulative. The Court dismissed the underlying suit entirely.

Lesson Learnt

Claims for service benefits must be pursued within the limitation period from when the cause of action arises (here, from retirement or rejection of a claim): long delay can defeat an otherwise arguable claim; and benefits tied to a "clean service record" require an genuinely unblemished disciplinary history, not merely an absence of major penalties.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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