I N TH E H I GH COURT OF UTTA RA K H A v. Wit h SPECI A L A PPEA L N o .1 5 9 o

Mr. Bhuvnesh Joshi, learned counsel in SPA No.59 of 2021 Counsel for St at e of Ut t arakhand Mr. D.S. Bora, Counsel. lear ned St anding Counsel for respondent no.4 Counsel for respondent no.5 Mr. Mehul Joshi, learned counsel holding brief of Mr. Bhuwan Bhat t , learned counsel. Mr. Vinay Kum ar, learned counsel in SPA No.59 of 2021. JUD GM EN T : ( PER H ON ’ BLE M R. M A N OJ K UM A R TI W A RI . J) By t hese int ra court appeals, appellant s have challenged t he j udgm ent dat ed 25.01.2021, passed by learned Single Judge in Writ Pet it ion ( S/ S) No.768 of

2020. By t he said j udgm ent , writ pet it ion filed by writ pet it ioner Sri Rohit ashav Kunwar, claim ing benefit of t wo years ext ension in service on account of “ Shailesh Mat iyani St at e Educat ion Award” conferred upon him , was allowed. Operat ive port ion of t he im pugned j udgm ent is reproduced below: - “ 13. Accordingly, t he writ pet it ion is allowed. I m pugned order dat ed 27.05.2020 is hereby quashed. Mandam us is issued t o t he respondent aut horit y t o grant t he benefit of ext ension of t wo years of service t o t he pet it ioner being t he St at e Awardee of Shailesh Mat iy ani St at e Educat ion Awar d- 1 2017 wit hin a period of one m ont h from t he dat e of product ion of cert ified copy of t his order.”

2. Learned counsel for t he appellant subm it s t hat t he int erpret at ion given by learned Single Judge t o t he governm ent order dat ed 22.08.2007 is not correct ; as per t he governm ent order, benefit of t wo years ext ension in service is available only t o such t eachers, who are yet t o at t ain age of superannuat ion, while Sri Rohit ashav Kunwar had at t ained t he age of superannuat ion on

30.04.2019 and “ Shailesh Mat iyani St at e Educat ion Award” was conferred upon him on 23.10.2019, however, learned Single Judge has m isint erpret ed t he governm ent order dat ed 22.08.2007 and arrived at t he conclusion t hat benefit of t wo years ext ension would be available even if such award is conferred upon a Teacher aft er his/ her at t aining age of superannuat ion. Thus, t he cont roversy revolves around int erpret at ion governm ent order dat ed 22.08.2007.

3. Perusal of t he said governm ent order reveals t hat anot her governm ent order dat ed 29.08.2005 was earlier issued on t he subj ect , which is on record as Annexure no.14 t o t he writ pet it ion. The said governm ent order provides t hat any Teacher, who has been conferred wit h Nat ional/ St at e award, would be ent it led t o ext ension in service up t o t wo years, provided he is physically and m ent ally fit and his work and conduct has been found t o be sat isfact ory.

4. Since t he said governm ent order was silent on t he quest ion whet her benefit of ext ension in service would be available t o such Teachers also who were 2 conferred award aft er at t aining age of superannuat ion and queries on t his aspect were being raised by t he depart m ent al aut horit ies, t herefore, St at e Governm ent issued anot her governm ent order on 22.08.2007, which is clarificat ory in nat ure. Paragraph 2 of t he said governm ent order in so m any words provides t hat t he benefit of ext ension of t wo years service would be available only t o such Teachers who were conferred Nat ional/ St at e award while t hey were cont inuing service and t he said benefit would not be available t o a t eacher aft er his/ her superannuat ion.

5. Learned counsel for t he writ pet it ioner relies upon t he last sent ence of para 2 of Governm ent Order dat ed 22.08.2007 for cont ending t hat t he benefit of ext ension in service is also available t o a t eacher, who is given ext ension t ill t he end of academ ic session. The last sent ence of para 2 is reproduced below: - “सेवािनवृि� / स�ांत लाभ के प�ात् पुरस्कार �ा� करने वाले अध्यापक को 02 वषर् क� अित�र� सेवा का लाभ अनुमन्य नह� होगा”

6. The last sent ence cannot be read in isolat ion and it has t o be read wit h para 2 of Governm ent Order dat ed 22.08.2007. The earlier sent ence of para 2 m akes it clear t hat benefit of ext ension in service would be available only t o such t eachers, who were conferred award while t hey were cont inuing in service.

7. The expression “ cont inue in service” used in para 2 m akes it clear t hat a t eacher, who has com plet ed age of superannuat ion i.e. 60 years, if receives an award t hereaft er, will not be ent it led t o ext ension in service. 3 The last sent ence appears t o have been added t o em phasize t he aforesaid policy t hat t eacher get t ing award aft er ret irem ent will not be ent it led for ext ension in service. The expression “ सेवािनवृि� / स�ांत लाभ के प�ात्” used in last sent ence, t herefore, would m ean t hat a person cont inuing on ext ension aft er ret irem ent , if get s an award will not be ent it led t o furt her ext ension in service on account of award.

8. The t eachers serving in Governm ent Schools/ Colleges are St at e em ployees. Their age of superannuat ion is fixed by st at ut ory provision, cont ained in Rule 56 of Financial Handbook ( Vol. I I , Para I I t o I V) , which reads as under: - [ " 56 ( a) Except as ot herwise provided in t his rule, every Governm ent servant shall ret ire from service on t he aft ernoon of t he last day of t he m ont h in which he at t ains t he age of sixt y years: Provided t hat a Governm ent servant , whose dat e of birt h is t he first day of a m ont h, shall ret ire from service on t he preceding m ont h on at t aining t he age of sixt y years: t he aft ernoon of last day of t he Provided furt her t hat a Governm ent servant , who has at t ained t he age of fift y- eight years on or before t he first day of t he Novem ber, 2001 and is on ext ension in service, shall ret ir e from service on expiry of his ext ended period of service. ( a- 1) No Governm ent servant shall be grant ed ext ension in service beyond t he age of ret irem ent of sixt y years: Provided t hat a Governm ent servant dealing wit h budget work or working as a full t im e m em ber of a com m it t ee which is t o be wound up wit hin a short period of t im e m ay be grant ed, by t he Governm ent , ext ension of service for a period not exceeding t hree m ont hs in public int erest : Provided furt her t hat a Governm ent servant holding highly specialised t echnical j ob whose replacem ent has not been possible t o be arranged before his ret irem ent even aft er effort s m ade in t his regard, m ay 4 be grant ed ext ension of service up t o t he age of sixt y- t wo years, if such ext ension is unavoidable in public for such ext ension are int erest and recorded in writ ing: t he grounds Not e- Each case for ext ension of service under t his clause shall be put up for orders t o t he Chief Minist er t hrough t he Chief Secret ary. t hing ( a- 2) Not wit hst anding any t he cont rary cont ained in clause ( a) or clause ( a- 1) of t his rule, a Governm ent servant m ay, if considered necessary, in public int erest , so t o do, be grant ed ext ension of service up t o t he age of sixt y- t wo years wit h t he prior approval of t he Cabinet : t o clauses ( a- 2) of ( a- 1) and Provided t hat in t he cases of ext ension in service rule, Governm ent shall have t he right t o t erm inat e t he ext ension of service before expiry of such ext ension by giving a not ice in writ ing of not less t han t hree m ont hs in t he case of a perm anent or, of one m ont h in t he case of a t em porary Governm ent servant , or pay and allowances in lieu of such not ice." t his

9. Ret irem ent of a t eacher during m id academ ic session adversely affect s st udies of st udent s, t herefore, St at e Governm ent fram ed a policy of perm it t ing a t eacher ret iring during m id academ ic session t o serve t ill t he end of academ ic session, wherever necessary; however, in t hat case, t he concerned t eacher is t reat ed t o be re- em ployed and t he service, rendered during such re- em ploym ent , does not ent it le him t o m onet ary benefit s except salary, t herefore, t he cont ent ion t hat a t eacher, who is re- em ployed aft er at t aining age of superannuat ion should also be t reat ed as cont inuing in service for benefit of Governm ent Policy cont ained in Governm ent Order dat ed 22.08.2007, cannot be accept ed. 5

10. This relevant aspect appears t o have been overlooked by learned Single Judge. We, t herefore, are of t he considered opinion t hat t he im pugned j udgm ent deserves t o be int erfered wit h. We, accordingly, allow t he appeals and set aside t he im pugned j udgm ent dat ed

25.01.2021 passed in WPSS No. 768 of 2020.

11. Mr. Vinay Kum ar, learned counsel for writ pet it ioner subm it s t hat pursuant t o t he im pugned j udgm ent , his client served for som e t im e and he was also paid salary for t he said period. I t is t herefore provided t hat salary paid for t he period during which writ pet it ioner served pursuant t o t he im pugned j udgm ent , shall not be recovered. M A N OJ KUM A R TI W A RI . J. A SH I SH N A I TH A N I , J. Dt : 07 t h May , 2025 NR/ 6