TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2009 (8) TMI 1221
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....ier; Provided further that before retiring an officer employee, at least three months' notice in writing or an amount equivalent to three months' substantive salary/pay and allowances, shall be given to such officer employee; Provided also that nothing in this regulation shall be deemed to preclude an officer employee from retiring earlier pursuant to the option exercised by him in accordance with the rules in the Bank. Explanation : An officer employee will retire on the last day of the month in which he completes his age of retirement. (2) The Bank shall constitute a Special Committee, consisting of not less than three members, to review, whether an officer employee should be retired in accordance with the first proviso to this regulation. Such Committee shall, from time to time, review the case of each officer employee and no order of retirement shall be made unless the Special Committee recommends in writing to the Competent Authority the retirement of the officer employee." 3.The basic fact of the matter is not in dispute. Respondent No.1 herein joined his services in the appellant bank as MMG Scale-II. On or about 13.2.1989, he ....
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....e said writ petition was allowed by a learned Single Judge of the High Court by his order dated 20.3.2003. The appellant-Bank preferred an intra court appeal thereagainst which was also dismissed by the Division Bench by reason of the impugned judgment. 5.The appellant is, thus, before us. 6.The respondent voluntarily retired from the services of the Bank as far back as on 31.5.1989 as has been noticed by us hereinbefore. He claimed the benefit of pension which was introduced by reason of a Regulation known as United Bank of India (Employees) Pension Regulations, 1995. The Regulations were published in the Official Gazette on 29.9.1995 and in terms of clause (2) of regulation 1, they were to come into force on the said date. 7.A writ petition was filed before this Court. This Court in its decision in Bank of India v. Indu Rajagopalan & Ors. [JT 2000 (10) SC 334] held that the benefit of the said Regulations should be extended to those employees who have retired on or after 1.1.1986. It is also not in dispute that the respondent as on the date of his retirement completed 17 years 10 months and 17 days of actual service. 8. The core question which arises for consideration....
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.... year and if such broken period is six months or less it shall be ignored. 19.Counting of period spent on training - Period spent by an employee on training in the Bank immediately before his appointment shall count as qualifying service. 21.Period of suspension - Period of suspension of an employee pending enquiry shall count for qualifying service where, on conclusion of such enquiry, he has been fully exonerated or the suspension is held to be wholly unjustified, and in other cases, the period of suspension shall not count as qualifying service unless the Competent Authority passing the orders under the Service Regulations or Discipline and Appeal regulations or Settlements governing such cases expressly declares at the time that it shall count to such extent as such authority may declare." 10.In the aforementioned backdrop, we may notice the provisions contained in Chapter of the Regulations titled 'Classes of Pension'. Regulation 28 provides for superannuation pension. Pension on voluntary retirement is governed by Regulation 29; clause (1) whereof reads as under : "Pension on Voluntary Retirement - (1)On or after 1st day of November, 199....
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.... when following an enumeration, should receive an ejusdem generis interpretation (per CLEASBY, B. Monck v.Hilton 46 LJMC 167. The words 'or otherwise', in law, when used as a general phrase following an enumeration of particulars, are commonly interpreted in a restricted sense, as referring to such other matters as are kindred to the classes before mentioned, (Cent. Dict.)" 13.Contention of Mr. Mehta is that the said word only takes within its purview those classes of cases which are noticed in Chapter IV of the Regulations and not for the purpose of extending the period of qualifying service. We agree. Service may not be actually rendered but must be otherwise rendered. This presupposes that the relationship of employer and employee must continue at all relevant times. 14.Mr. Mukherjee relied upon a recent decision in Bank of Baroda & Ors. v. Ganpat Singh Deora [(2009) 1 SCALE 168] wherein this Court was considering the provisions of the Pension of Regulations of Bank of Baroda providing for pay-ability of pension to an employee who as on 31.01.2001, would have completed a minimum of 15 years of service or who could be completing 40 years of age. The respondent therein at th....
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....p for consideration. Clause (5) of Regulation 29 came up for consideration therein although the case stricto sensu was concerned with the voluntary retirement scheme itself. The High Court, however, noticed that two different views expressed by the Kerala High Court in paragraph 19 of the judgment. Upon noticing the rival contentions of the parties, the following was formulated : "The principal question that falls for our determination is: whether the employees (having completed 20 years of service) of these banks (Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Punjab & Sind Bank, Union Bank of India and United Bank of India) who had opted for voluntary retirement under VRS 2000 are entitled to addition of five years of notional service in calculating the length of service for the purpose of the said Scheme as per Regulation 29(5) of Pension Regulations, 1995?" The High Court rejected his submission that if the Regulations including clause (5) of Regulation 29 is applied for the purposed of voluntary retirement scheme, it would create an anomalous situation inasmuch as two different class of employees for the purpose of granting pension would be created. The Court distingui....
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....sent controversy nor does that matter decide the question here to be decided in the present group of matters." It was laid down : "53. We hold, as it must be, that the employees who had completed 20 years of service and were pension optees and offered voluntary retirement under VRS 2000 and whose offers were accepted by the banks are entitled to addition of five years of notional service in calculating the length of service for the purposes of that Scheme as per Regulation 29(5) of the Pension Regulations, 1995. The contrary view expressed by some of the High Courts do not lay down the correct legal position." We respectfully agree with the view expressed therein. 16.What is qualifying service has been explained in Union of India & Anr. v. Bashirbhai R. Khilji [(2007) 6 SCC 16], wherein this Court held that the respondent being constable in the Central Reserve Police Force, the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 are applicable. Rule 49 stipulates that the minimum qualifying service of ten years is required for extending the pension benefit. It was stated that 'for grant of any kind of pension, one has to put in the minimum of ten years of qualifyin....
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....ered while on duty. He may be in service even otherwise although not rendering any duty. Those exigencies of situation are covered by the other types of cases which would come within the purview thereof. A person who is not in service cannot be said to be entitled to the benefit thereof. The term 'otherwise' should be read ejusdem generis. The term 'otherwise' in the context of the 'Regulations' should be construed so that it can become meaningful one. For the said purpose, the employee concerned was required to be in service. It is not possible to hold in absence of any express words that the eligibility criteria laid down in the Regulations for obtaining the benefit of pension, i.e., the qualifying service should be construed in such a manner that a person even not in service would be deemed to be in service. The statute does not raise a legal fiction. A strict construction of the term "qualifying service" therefor, in our opinion, would not be appropriate. In Siddeshwari Cotton Mills (P) Ltd. v. Union of India (UOI) & Anr. [(1989) 2 SCC 458], the Supreme Court while discussing the definition of 'manufacture' under section 2(f) of the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944 whether ....