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State of Madhya Pradesh & Others v. Hitkishore Goswami

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 1892 of 2015)Decided 16 Feb 2015
Civil Appeal No. 1892 of 2015
Justice F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla · Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre

Background

The respondent worked as a government school lecturer from 1963, resigned in late 1965 after being selected for a different post (Lecturer at a Government Degree College) under the state public service commission, and joined the new post on 3 January 1966. He continued in service, including a period on deputation, until retiring in 2004. When his pension was assessed, a dispute arose over whether his earlier 1963-1966 service (before the resignation) should also be counted toward his total qualifying service for pension purposes. The High Court (Writ Court and Division Bench) had ruled in his favour, directing the state to count that past period.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that since the respondent had voluntarily resigned from his earlier post to join the new one, and had himself stated "3rd January 1966" as his service start date in his own pension form, the lower courts erred in directing the state to count his pre-resignation service without properly examining the legal effect of that resignation. The Court therefore allowed the state's appeal and set aside the High Court's judgment, holding the respondent entitled only to pension benefits computed from 3 January 1966 onward. It separately upheld the lower courts' finding that the respondent's writ petition was not time-barred by delay and laches, but held this issue moot given the dismissal on merits.

Lesson Learnt

A voluntary resignation from one government post to join another generally breaks the continuity of service for pension purposes, unless the employee can show the resignation did not have that legal effect; the position an employee himself records in official pension forms carries real weight.

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

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