Case Note & Summary
The petitioner, a retired employee of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (KMB) Ltd., filed a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking a writ of mandamus. He claimed that one year of his service during the probationary period was not taken into account in the calculation of his retirement benefits, including pension. Aggrieved by this omission, he submitted a representation to the respondent corporation on 31 July 2024, requesting recalculation. Upon receiving no response, he approached the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. At the hearing, the court noted that the sole grievance was the non-inclusion of the probationary service and that the petitioner's prayer was essentially for a direction to the respondents to consider his pending representation. The petitioner's counsel urged the court to direct the respondents to consider the representation and re-fix the benefits with interest. The respondents' standing counsel did not oppose the limited relief of consideration. The court observed that the relief sought was confined to a direction for consideration of the representation without requiring any adjudication on the merits of the service claim. In view of the limited scope, the Court deemed it appropriate and reasonable to dispose of the writ petition without going into the merits of the case, with a direction to the respondents to consider the petitioner's representation dated 31.07.2024 on its own merits and in accordance with law, and to pass appropriate orders within a period of eight weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the order. The Court made it clear that it had not expressed any opinion on the merits of the petitioner's claim. The writ petition was thus disposed of with this direction, and no costs were ordered. The decision underscores the principle that when a statutory authority fails to act on a representation, a writ court may direct consideration without usurping the authority's discretion.
Headnote
A) Service Law - Pensionary Benefits - Inclusion of Probationary Service - Constitution of India, 1950, Article 226 - Petitioner sought a writ of mandamus to direct the respondent transport corporation to include one year of probationary service in the calculation of his retirement benefits, which was omitted - Court, without examining the merits of the claim, directed respondents to consider the petitioner's representation dated 31.07.2024 on its own merits and pass appropriate orders within eight weeks - Held that disposal with a direction to consider the representation meets the ends of justice (Paras 2-4).
Issue of Consideration
Whether a writ of mandamus can be issued directing respondents to consider the petitioner's representation for inclusion of one-year probationary service in calculating retirement benefits.
Final Decision
The writ petition is disposed of with a direction to the respondents to consider the petitioner's representation dated 31.07.2024 on its own merits and in accordance with law, and to pass appropriate orders within eight weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the order, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case.
Law Points
- Mandamus
- Consideration of representation
- Probationary service inclusion
- Retirement benefits recalculation
- Pension
