State of Rajasthan & Ors. vs. Dr. Hamir Singh Chouhan (Dead) by LRs & Ors.
Background
The respondents were appointed in 1971 to posts in Rajasthan's Animal Husbandry Department, and between 1976 and 1978 they applied for and were selected, after interviews, to work in the Rajasthan State Dairy Development Corporation's Milk Unions ("Dairy Federations"). A 1976 government letter told them their "lien" (their retained claim on their original government post) would last only two years or until their confirmation in the Dairy Federations, whichever came first. They worked in, were promoted within, and eventually retired from the Dairy Federations between 1999-2003, receiving retirement benefits there, but six to nine years after retiring, they filed writ petitions claiming they were still entitled to a government pension because their lien with the State had supposedly never ended. The Rajasthan High Court's Single Judge and then a Division Bench both ruled in the respondents' favour, prompting the State to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court held that once the respondents accepted fresh appointment in the Dairy Federations after due selection and interview, and were later permanently absorbed/confirmed there, their lien on the earlier government post automatically stood terminated under Rule 18(2) of the Rajasthan Service Rules, 1951, which does not permit a government servant to hold a lien on two substantive posts at once. The Court found the 1976 letter and their own appointment terms had made this clear from the outset, and rejected the argument that a lien can never be terminated without consent: that rule protects an employee from being left with no post at all, not one who has knowingly moved to and been confirmed in a new permanent post. Since the respondents had already received full retirement benefits from the Dairy Federations, the High Court's orders were quashed and the claim for a separate State government pension was rejected; the appeals by the State were allowed with no costs.
Lesson Learnt
A government employee cannot simultaneously hold a "lien" on two permanent posts. Once you accept confirmed/permanent appointment with a new employer after due selection, any lien on your earlier government post lapses automatically, and you cannot claim pension from your old employer years later after already taking retirement benefits from the new one.