Meghalaya HC denies pension to ex-Assam Rifles rifleman, says voluntary discharge leads to forfeiture of past service
The Meghalaya High Court has dismissed a pension claim filed by a former Assam Rifles Rifleman who sought retirement benefits after serving for more than 13 years, holding that voluntary discharge from service on one's own request amounts to resignation and results in forfeiture of past service under the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972, reported Live Law.
The court clarified that an employee cannot claim pensionary benefits under Rule 49(2) merely because he has completed 10 years of qualifying service if Rule 26(1), which provides for forfeiture of past service upon resignation, applies to his case.
The court also rejected the petitioner's challenge on the grounds of delay and laches, noting that he approached the authorities nearly 22 years after his discharge from service.
The court said: “Voluntarily resignation from a post entails forfeiture of all past services and is therefore not entitled to pensionary benefits. Rule 26(1) placed in juxtaposition with Rule 49(2), it is apparent that since Rule 26(1) operates as a bar to future service benefits, therefore, Rule 49(2) would become inapplicable in such a scenario.”
The petitioner, L. Pearlson, was appointed as a Rifleman (General Duty) in the Assam Rifles on January 3, 1986. He claimed that he was discharged from service on June 30, 1999, without voluntarily requesting discharge.
According to him, his signatures had allegedly been obtained on a pre-typed document, which was subsequently used to establish that he had sought voluntary discharge.
However, the respondents disputed his allegations, arguing that Pearlson had applied for premature discharge in 1998 on extreme compassionate grounds because of his wife's illness.
The authorities further maintained that he was aware that accepting discharge on his own request would make him ineligible for pensionary benefits.
After his pension request was rejected on November 5, 2021, Pearlson approached the Meghalaya High Court challenging the decision.
The High court examined the discharge certificate and another certificate dated December 23, 1998.
It observed that these documents established that the petitioner had sought discharge on compassionate grounds and was aware that he would not be entitled to pensionary benefits.
The court also noted that Pearlson challenged his discharge only in 2021, almost 22 years after leaving service. He failed to provide any convincing explanation for this substantial delay.
Consequently, the court rejected his challenge on the grounds of delay and laches.
On the question of pension eligibility, the High Court held that voluntary discharge from service on an employee's own request could be treated as resignation, attracting Rule 26(1) of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972.
Under this provision, resignation from service results in forfeiture of past service, subject to the exceptions prescribed under the rules.
The court clarified that completing 10 years of qualifying service does not automatically guarantee pensionary benefits in every case.
Although Rule 49(2) provides for pensionary benefits after completion of 10 years of qualifying service, it cannot be invoked when Rule 26(1) operates as a bar because of forfeiture of past service.
Therefore, the petitioner's claim for pension could not be accepted merely because he had served for more than 13 years.
While dismissing the petition, the Meghalaya High Court directed the authorities to release ₹5,656 towards the petitioner's Individual Running Ledger Account (IRLA) and ₹53,642 towards his General Provident Fund (GPF) account.
The authorities were directed to make these payments within 30 days, if they had not already been released.
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