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GYANESH CHHIBBER v. WILDLIFE INSTITUTE OF INDIA THROUGH DIRECTOR

Court: High Court of Uttarakhand

Bench: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MANOJ KUMAR TIWARI

Judgment date:

Case summary

High Court of Uttarakhand judgment dated 2024-12-13. GYANESH CHHIBBER v. WILDLIFE INSTITUTE OF INDIA THROUGH DIRECTOR. Read the judgment and case details on...

Judgment text

2024:UHC:9507 HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL HON’BLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE, SHRI JUSTICE MANOJ KUMAR TIWARI UWrit Petition (S/S) No. 797 of 2023 th U13UPU UPU December, 2024 Vinay Kum ar Sharm a - - Pet it ioner Ve r su s Wildlife I nst it ut e of I ndia Through Direct or and ot hers - - Respondent s With Writ Petition (S/S) No. 798 of 2023 Writ Petition (S/S) No. 799 of 2023 Writ Petition (S/S) No. 800 of 2023 Writ Petition (S/S) No. 802 of 2023 Writ Petition (S/S) No. 804 of 2023 Writ Petition (S/S) No. 805 of 2023 Writ Petition (S/S) No. 806 of 2023 Writ Petition (S/S) No. 807 of 2023 Writ Petition (S/S) No. 808 of 2023 Writ Petition (S/S) No. 809 of 2023 Writ Petition (S/S) No. 831 of 2023 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Presence:- Mr. M. C. Pant, learned counsel for the petitioners Mr. Vikas Pande, learned counsel for the respondents UJUDGMENT 1.

Since com m on quest ions of law and fact s are involved in t hese writ pet it ions, t herefore t hey were heard t oget her and are being decided by a com m on j udgm ent . However, for t he sake of brevit y, fact s of Writ Pet it ion ( S/ S) No. 797 of 2023 alone are being considered and discussed. Pet it ioner in WPSS No. 797 of 2023 has sought t he following reliefs: - “(1) Issued writ rule or direction in the nature of certiorari to 2024:UHC:9507 declare the act of the respondents by treating the date of regularization of petitioner w. e. f. 31. 10. 2018 vide WII's letter WII/ADM/2022/58 dated 28. 12. 2022 is arbitrary, irrational and unjust, and also discriminating so far as denying the benefits of Assessment, Promotions, Career Progression with all service intakes and, more importantly the benefits of OPS by not counting the entire length of service w. e. f.

initial date of appointment and, also to correct the same after calling entire records from the respondents along with its effect and operations or to mould the relief appropriately by safeguarding the interest of the petitioner. (ANNEXURE. NO. 1) (ii) Issued writ rule or direction in the nature of mandamus to declare the petitioner is entitled for all consequential service benefits viz. , a). Old Pension Scheme; b). Assessment & Promotions; and c). Admissibility of Arrears, Leaves, PF and other admissible allowances/benefits with effect from his initial date of appointment i. e. 01. 10. 1996. (iii) To award damages/compensation as deem fit and proper by this Hon'ble Court to quantify for the petitioner against the malicious and discriminating act of respondents and, direct to be recovered from the erring officers, who are instrumental for such type of unfair labour practice act. ” 2. Pet it ioners were engaged on cont ract in Wildlife I nst it ut e of I ndia at Dehradun.

Pursuant t o j udgm ent rendered by coordinat e Bench of t his Court , regularizat ion orders were passed in respect of t he pet it ioners, whereby t hey were given regularizat ion w. e. f. 31. 10. 2018. 3. Since services rendered by pet it ioners before t heir regularizat ion are not being t aken int o account for calculat ing t heir ret iral dues, t herefore, pet it ioners have approached t his Court . 4. Mr. M. C. Pant , learned counsel appearing for pet it ioners relied upon j udgm ent rendered by Hon’ble Suprem e Court in t he case of St a t e o f H i m a ch a l Pr a d e sh & A n o t h e r Vs. Sh e e l a D e v i , SLP ( Ci v i l ) N o . 1 0 3 9 9 / 2 0 2 0 , for cont ending t hat services rendered on cont ract basis are also liable t o be t aken 2024:UHC:9507 int o account for pension and m onet ary benefit . He has also relied upon a j udgm ent rendered by Hon’ble Punj ab and Haryana High Court in t he case of So m N a t h & o t h e r s Vs.

St a t e o f Pu n j a b a n d o t h e r s ( CW P N o . 1 4 3 2 o f 2 0 1 2 ) which, according t o him , was affirm ed by Hon’ble Suprem e Court . 5. Per cont ra, Mr. Vikas Pande, learned counsel appearing for Wildlife I nst it ut e of I ndia subm it s t hat as per CCS Pension Rules, 1972, services rendered in regular capacit y alone is t o be t aken int o account for pension and m onet ary benefit s. He subm it s t hat before 2018, st at us of t he pet it ioners was t hat of a cont ract ual em ployee, t herefore, t hey are not eligible for pension for t he services rendered before 2018. He furt her subm it s t hat t he j udgm ent relied upon by pet it ioner are dist inguishable on fact s. He furt her subm it s t hat pet it ioners are st ill serving, except pet it ioner in Writ Pet it ion ( S/ S) No. 798 of 2020, who passed away and his legal heirs have been subst it ut ed. 6.

Since t he com pet ent aut horit y is yet t o t ake a decision, as t o whet her t he services rendered by pet it ioners before regularizat ion of t heir services are t o be t aken int o account for det erm ining t he am ount payable t o t hem as pension, t herefore, t his Court t hinks t hat ends of j ust ice would be m et , if pet it ioners are perm it t ed t o approach t he com pet ent aut horit y by m aking represent at ion( s) . 7. Accordingly, t he Writ Pet it ions are disposed of wit h libert y t o pet it ioner( s) t o m ake represent at ion( s) t o com pet ent aut horit y. I f pet it ioner( s) m akes 2024:UHC:9507 represent at ion( s) , wit hin t hree weeks from t oday, decision t hereupon shall be t aken wit hin five m ont hs from t he dat e of receipt of represent at ion( s) along wit h cert ified copy of t his order. I t shall be open t o pet it ioners t o raise all cont ent ion and cit e all j udgm ent s in support of t heir claim in t he represent at ion( s) . 8.

This Court hopes and expect s t hat t he com pet ent aut horit y shall t ake decision independent ly, wit hout being influenced by t he defence t aken in t he count er affidavit . (Manoj Kumar Tiwari, A. C. J. ) th 13P P December, 2024 Mahinder Digitally signed by MAHINDER SINGH DN: c=IN, o=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, ou=HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND, MAHINDE 2. 5. 4. 20=da6212e6e78d94ed3134842bc6a8d6ca16897 9ca7b8c2f031a92d1a18b08923c, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND, serialNumber=AB77B7C5B240908B392BE84F5CDD4C2 AF35DC4626D305B1BC9EA4BABA43D2B8F, R SINGH cn=MAHINDER SINGH Date: 2024. 12. 16 19:17:01 +05'30'

Source: High Court of Uttarakhand. Dataset: Dattam Labs. CC BY 4.0. Text extracted automatically; compare with the source PDF for layout and accuracy.