TMI Blog2009 (8) TMI 1221X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... onths notice in writing or an amount equivalent to three months substantive salary/pay and allowances, shall be given to such officer employee; Provided also that nothing in this regulation shall be deemed to preclude an officer employee from retiring earlier pursuant to the option exercised by him in accordance with the rules in the Bank. Explanation : An officer employee will retire on the last day of the month in which he completes his age of retirement. (2) The Bank shall constitute a Special Committee, consisting of not less than three members, to review, whether an officer employee should be retired in accordance with the first proviso to this regulation. Such Committee shall, from time to time, review the case of each officer employee and no order of retirement shall be made unless the Special Committee recommends in writing to the Competent Authority the retirement of the officer employee. 3.The basic fact of the matter is not in dispute. Respondent No.1 herein joined his services in the appellant bank as MMG Scale-II. On or about 13.2.1989, he sought voluntary retirement in terms of Regulation 19 of the Regulations. The Bank accepted his offer vide its le ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eal thereagainst which was also dismissed by the Division Bench by reason of the impugned judgment. 5.The appellant is, thus, before us. 6.The respondent voluntarily retired from the services of the Bank as far back as on 31.5.1989 as has been noticed by us hereinbefore. He claimed the benefit of pension which was introduced by reason of a Regulation known as United Bank of India (Employees) Pension Regulations, 1995. The Regulations were published in the Official Gazette on 29.9.1995 and in terms of clause (2) of regulation 1, they were to come into force on the said date. 7.A writ petition was filed before this Court. This Court in its decision in Bank of India v. Indu Rajagopalan Ors. [JT 2000 (10) SC 334] held that the benefit of the said Regulations should be extended to those employees who have retired on or after 1.1.1986. It is also not in dispute that the respondent as on the date of his retirement completed 17 years 10 months and 17 days of actual service. 8. The core question which arises for consideration herein is as to whether having regard to the provisions contained in clause (5) of Regulation 29 of the Regulations, he would be entitled to the pensiona ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... intment shall count as qualifying service. 21.Period of suspension Period of suspension of an employee pending enquiry shall count for qualifying service where, on conclusion of such enquiry, he has been fully exonerated or the suspension is held to be wholly unjustified, and in other cases, the period of suspension shall not count as qualifying service unless the Competent Authority passing the orders under the Service Regulations or Discipline and Appeal regulations or Settlements governing such cases expressly declares at the time that it shall count to such extent as such authority may declare. 10.In the aforementioned backdrop, we may notice the provisions contained in Chapter of the Regulations titled Classes of Pension . Regulation 28 provides for superannuation pension. Pension on voluntary retirement is governed by Regulation 29; clause (1) whereof reads as under : Pension on Voluntary Retirement (1)On or after 1st day of November, 1993, at any time after an employee has completed twenty years of qualifying service he may, by giving notice of not less than three months in writing to the appointing authority, retire from service; Provided that this sub ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed sense, as referring to such other matters as are kindred to the classes before mentioned, (Cent. Dict.) 13.Contention of Mr. Mehta is that the said word only takes within its purview those classes of cases which are noticed in Chapter IV of the Regulations and not for the purpose of extending the period of qualifying service. We agree. Service may not be actually rendered but must be otherwise rendered. This presupposes that the relationship of employer and employee must continue at all relevant times. 14.Mr. Mukherjee relied upon a recent decision in Bank of Baroda Ors. v. Ganpat Singh Deora [(2009) 1 SCALE 168] wherein this Court was considering the provisions of the Pension of Regulations of Bank of Baroda providing for pay-ability of pension to an employee who as on 31.01.2001, would have completed a minimum of 15 years of service or who could be completing 40 years of age. The respondent therein at that point of time merely had completed 13 years of service. Despite that, his application for voluntary retirement was accepted. When, however, he had sought for the benefits applicable to him under the Pension Scheme in addition to other retiral benefits, the same was ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the judgment. Upon noticing the rival contentions of the parties, the following was formulated : The principal question that falls for our determination is: whether the employees (having completed 20 years of service) of these banks (Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Punjab Sind Bank, Union Bank of India and United Bank of India) who had opted for voluntary retirement under VRS 2000 are entitled to addition of five years of notional service in calculating the length of service for the purpose of the said Scheme as per Regulation 29(5) of Pension Regulations, 1995? The High Court rejected his submission that if the Regulations including clause (5) of Regulation 29 is applied for the purposed of voluntary retirement scheme, it would create an anomalous situation inasmuch as two different class of employees for the purpose of granting pension would be created. The Court distinguished the Bank of Baroda s case (supra), opining that the same was rendered in the facts thereof, stating: 49. It is true that the controversy in the case of Bank of Baroda arose out of the same voluntary retirement scheme with which we are concerned in this group of appeals. However, there i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... epted by the banks are entitled to addition of five years of notional service in calculating the length of service for the purposes of that Scheme as per Regulation 29(5) of the Pension Regulations, 1995. The contrary view expressed by some of the High Courts do not lay down the correct legal position. We respectfully agree with the view expressed therein. 16.What is qualifying service has been explained in Union of India Anr. v. Bashirbhai R. Khilji [(2007) 6 SCC 16], wherein this Court held that the respondent being constable in the Central Reserve Police Force, the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 are applicable. Rule 49 stipulates that the minimum qualifying service of ten years is required for extending the pension benefit. It was stated that for grant of any kind of pension, one has to put in the minimum of ten years of qualifying service . In that case, Respondent was appointed as armed constable in centralreserve police force. He suffered from pyrogenic meningitis and neurosensory defines while on duty. He was invalidated from service after he was declared unfit for duty. Respondent request for invalid pension was rejected on the ground that he had ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... The term otherwise in the context of the Regulations should be construed so that it can become meaningful one. For the said purpose, the employee concerned was required to be in service. It is not possible to hold in absence of any express words that the eligibility criteria laid down in the Regulations for obtaining the benefit of pension, i.e., the qualifying service should be construed in such a manner that a person even not in service would be deemed to be in service. The statute does not raise a legal fiction. A strict construction of the term qualifying service therefor, in our opinion, would not be appropriate. In Siddeshwari Cotton Mills (P) Ltd. v. Union of India (UOI) Anr. [(1989) 2 SCC 458], the Supreme Court while discussing the definition of manufacture under section 2(f) of the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944 whether the relevant process fall within any other process thereby within the provision of section 2(f)(v) the Court looked at the meaning of the expression ejus-dem-generis... which means of the same kind or nature'...signifies a principle of construction whereby words in a statute which are otherwise wide but are associated in the text wi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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