3606-DB I N TH E H I GH COURT OF UTTA RA K H v. Counsel for t he

challenged rej ect ion of his claim in Writ Pet it ion ( M/ S) No. 754 of 2021. The writ pet it ion was dism issed by learned Single Judge by holding t hat such benefit is not available t o a t eacher, who is reappoint ed for t he benefit of st udent s t ill t he end of academ ic session, as he is not cont inuing in service. Relevant discussion has been m ade in para 9 and 10 of t he im pugned j udgm ent , which are reproduced below: -

9. The ident ical view, which has been expressed by t he Addit ional Direct or, alm ost on t he basis of t he sam e ground, as t hat given by t he Direct or, Secondary School Educat ion, is not fault ed in any m anner what soever. Hence, t his Court is also of t he view, t hat once aft er t he at t ainm ent of t he age of superannuat ion, if t he pet it ioner is sur viving int o t he services due t o t he reappoint m ent grant ed t o him t o work upt o t he end of t he academ ic session, it would be deem ed t hat he was in service as a consequence of t he execut ive and adm inist rat ive arrangem ent , t o m eet t he wider obj ect ive of t he academ ic benefit t o t he st udent s, and it was not an individual right or benefit , which has been creat ed in favour of t he pet it ioner, by 1 t he grant of ext ension of service, hence t here cannot be double ext ension on t he basis of award, and hence t he ext ended period of services for t he pur poses of ext ension t o be grant ed under t he Governm ent Order dat ed 22.08.2007, would be barred by paragraph No.2, of t he said Governm ent Order, and t he award being grant ed aft er t he at t ainm ent of t he age of superannuat ion, cannot be t reat ed as t o be an award, which was grant ed when t he pet it ioner was in service in order t o provide him an ext ension of services under t he award grant ed in his favour. Hence, t he rat io laid down by t he coordinat e Bench of t his Court , would not be applicable in t he circum st ances of t he present case, and coupled wit h t he fact t hat t he said j udgm ent on being challenged before t he Division Bench, has been kept in abeyance. Meaning t hereby, it is t he said j udgm ent of t he coordinat e Bench, is in a suspended anim at ion, and is not holding good as on dat e in t he eyes of law as on t he dat e when t he writ pet it ion has been argued. I n view of t he aforesaid, I am of t he view, t hat t he 10. im pugned orders of rej ect ing t he claim of t he pet it ioner for t he ext ension of t he services on t he pret ext t hat he was a St at e awardee, and hence his services should be ext ended, w ould not be available t o him , because t he ext ension as per t he opinion of t his Court , is only available t o t hose em ployees who are t he recipient of t he award during t he subsist ence of t he t he principal period of services, and not when t he award, under an ext ended period of recipient of reappoint m ent m ade by pursuance t o t he Governm ent Order giving t he benefit of t he end of t he academ ic session. Hence, t he writ pet it ion lacks m erit and t he sam e is accordingly dism issed. t he Educat ion Depart m ent , t hey are

2. Learned counsel for t he appellant subm it s t hat view t aken by learned Single Judge is based on m isreading of Governm ent Order dat ed 22.08.2007 and as per said G.O., appellant was ent it led t o 2 years ext ension in service on account of t he award. The Governm ent Order dat ed

22.08.2007 is ext ract ed below for ready reference: - “ la[;k&320@XXIV-2/2007 izs’kd] jktsUnz flag] mi lfpo] mRrjk[k.M 'kkluA lsok esa] funs'kd] fo|ky;h f'k{kk] mRrjk[k.M] nsgjknwuA 2 ek/;fed% f'k{kk vuqHkkx&2 nsgjknwu 22 vxLr] 2007 fo’k;% jk’Vªh; @ jkT; iqjLdkj izkIr csfld @ ek/;fed fo|ky;ksa ds v/;kidks dks mudh vf/ko’kZrk vk;q ds i'pkr~ 2 o’kZ dh vfrfjDr lsok dk ykHkA egksn;] उपयु र्� िवषयक शासनादेश संख्या 885/XXIV-2/2005 �दनांक 29- 08-2005 का संदभर् �हण करने का क� कर�, जो रा�ीय / राज्य पुरस्कार �ा� बेिसक / माध्यिमक िव�ालय� के अध्यापको को उनक� अिधवषर्ता आयु के प�ात 02 वषर् क� अित�र� सेवा का लाभ �दये जाने से संबंिधत है। 2- उ� संबंध म� कितi; �ु�टपणर् �स्ताव �ा� होने एवं तद्�म म� सम्यक िवचारोपरान्त िलये गये िनणर्य के अनुसार मुझे यह कहने का िनदेश �आ है �क उ� �स्तर-1 म� व�णत रा�ीय / राज्य पुरस्कार �ा� अध्यापको क� 02 वषर् क� अित�र� सेवा का लाभ उन्ही अध्यापको को अनुमन्य होगा िजन्हे सेवा म� रहते �ए ही पुरस्कार �ा� हो गया हो। सेवािनवृि� / स�ांत लाभ के प�ात् पुरस्कार �ा� करने वाले अध्यापक को 02 वषर् क� अित�र� सेवा का लाभ अनुमन्य नह� होगा। 3- शासनादेश संख्या 885/XXIV-2/2005 �दनांक 29-08-2005 क� शेष सभी शत� यथावत रह�गी। 4- यह आदेश िव� िवभाग के परामशर् के आधार पर िनगर्त �कया जा रह� है। Hkonh; g0v0 ¼jktsUnz flag½ milfpo**

5. The aforesaid Governm ent Order refers t o Governm ent Order dat ed 29.08.2005 issued earlier, which is on record as Annexure 11 t o t he writ pet it ion. The Governm ent Order dat ed 29.08.2005 provides t hat a t eacher who has been conferred a Nat ional/ St at e Award would be ent it led t o ext ension in service upt o 2 years, provided he is physically and m ent ally fit and his work and conduct has been found t o be sat isfact ory. 3

6. Since Governm ent Order dat ed 2 9 .0 8 .2 0 0 5 was silent on t he quest ion whet her benefit of ext ension in service would be available t o such t eachers also who were conferred award aft er at t aining age of superannuat ion and quest ions 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 governm ent order dat ed 22.08.2007, which clarificat ory in nat ure. Paragraph 2 of t he said Governm ent unequivocally provides t hat benefit of ext ension of 2 years service would be available only t o such t eachers who were conferred a Nat ional/ St at e award while t hey were cont inuing in service and such benefit would not be available t o a t eacher who was conferred such award aft er his ret irem ent .

7. Learned counsel for t he appellant relies upon t he last sent ence of para 2 of Governm ent Order dat ed

22.08.2007, for cont ending t hat benefit of ext ension in service is also available t o a t eacher who is cont inuing on ext ension t ill end of academ ic session. The last sent ence, on which heavy reliance is placed on behalf of t he appellant is ext ract ed below: - “सेवािनवृि� / स�ांत लाभ के प�ात् पुरस्कार �ा� करने वाले अध्यापक को 02 वषर् क� अित�र� सेवा का लाभ अनुमन्य नह� होगा।“

8. The last sent ence cannot be read in isolat ion and it has t o be read wit h earlier sent ence of para 2 of governm ent order dat ed 22.08.2007. The earlier sent ence of para 2 leaves no room for doubt t hat benefit of ext ension in service would be available only t o such t eachers who received St at e/ Nat ional award while t hey were cont inuing in service. 4

9. The expression “ cont inuing in service” used in para 2 would m ean t hat a t eacher who receives an award aft er com plet ing age of superannuat ion, will not be ent it led t o ext ension in service for 2 years. The last sent ence, on which reliance is placed by appellant ’s counsel, has been added t o em phasize t he Governm ent Policy t hat t eacher receiving award aft er ret irem ent will not be ent it led for ext ension in service.

10. The expression “ सेवािनवृि� / स�ांत लाभ के प�ात् पुरस्कार” used in last sent ence t hus would m ean t hat a t eacher, if receives an award post ret irem ent would not be ent it led t o furt her ext ension in service even if he received t he award aft er being reappoint ed for t he benefit of st udent s t ill t he end of session, which is also referred as ext ension t ill end of academ ic session.

11. The t eachers serving 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 Gov ernm ent servant , w hose dat e of birt h is t he first day of a m ont h, shall ret ire from service on t he aft ernoon of t he last day of t he preceding m ont h on at t aining t he age of sixt y years: 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 5 service, shall ret ire ext ended period of service. from service on expiry of his ( 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 Gov ernm 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 regar d, m ay be grant ed ext ension of service up t o t he age of sixt y- 2 years, if such ext ension is unavoidable in public int erest and t he grounds for such ex t ension are recorded in writ ing: 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 t he cont rary ( a- 2) Not wit hst anding any 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 ex t ension of service up t o t he age of sixt y- 2 years wit h t he prior approval of t he Cabinet : t o Provided t hat in t he cases of ext ension in service under clauses ( a- 1) and ( a- 2) of t his 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."

12. Ret irem ent of a t eacher during m id academ ic session adversely affect s his 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 , 6 does not ent it le him t o any addit ional benefit 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 claim ing benefit of Policy cont ained in Governm ent Order dat ed

22.08.2007, cannot be accept ed. 12 We t hus concur wit h t he view t aken by learned Single Judge t hat in view of st ipulat ion m ade Governm ent Order dat ed 22.08.2007, benefit of 2 years ext ension in service would not be available t o a t eacher who received Nat ional/ St at e award aft er at t aining age of superannuat ion, and cont inuance of such t eacher on a t eaching post on reem ploym ent , t ill end of academ ic session, will m ake no difference.

13. We, t herefore, find no m erit in t his I nt ra Court Appeal. Accordingly, Special Appeal is dism issed. No order as t o cost s. 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/ 7