Case Note & Summary
The petitioner, Mr. Seetaram s/o Ganpat Randale, filed a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking directions to the respondents, including the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), to count his prior service for rationalized promotion and pension benefits. The petitioner had worked with the Geological Survey of India, Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited, and Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd. before joining ONGC. He resigned from each previous employment before joining the next. The petitioner sought that his rationalized promotion be counted from 1.1.1988 and that his twenty years of service be counted for benefits under various office memoranda and the Employees Pension Scheme 1995. The court examined the factual matrix and found that the petitioner had resigned from his previous employments, which, under service law, breaks continuity of service. The court held that resignation results in forfeiture of past service, and such service cannot be counted for pension or other benefits. The court also held that the petitioner was not entitled to antedated promotion. Consequently, the petition was dismissed. The court did not find any merit in the petitioner's claims and upheld the respondents' position that the petitioner's prior service could not be counted.
Headnote
A) Service Law - Pension - Counting of Prior Service - Resignation breaks continuity - Petitioner resigned from Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited and Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd. before joining ONGC - Held that resignation results in forfeiture of past service, and such service cannot be counted for pension under the Employees Pension Scheme 1995 (Paras 1-10). B) Service Law - Promotion - Rationalized Promotion - Antedating - Petitioner sought rationalized promotion from 1.1.1988 - Held that promotion cannot be antedated to a date prior to joining the organization, and the petitioner was not entitled to such relief (Paras 1-10).
Issue of Consideration
Whether the petitioner is entitled to have his prior service with other organizations counted for the purposes of rationalized promotion and pension benefits under the Oil and Natural Gas Commission and the Employees Pension Scheme 1995.
Final Decision
The petition is dismissed. The court held that resignation from previous employment breaks continuity of service, and the petitioner is not entitled to have his prior service counted for rationalized promotion or pension benefits.
Law Points
- Resignation breaks continuity of service
- past service cannot be counted for pension benefits
- rationalized promotion cannot be antedated
- Employees Pension Scheme 1995 requires continuous service
