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Supreme Court of India· 21 February 2025

Under the Odisha Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1992, how does Rule 18(3) treat work-charged service differently from Rule 18(6)'s treatment of job contract service?

STATE OF ODISHA & ORS. v. SUDHANSU SEKHAR JENA
2025 INSC 259 · SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (CIVIL) NO.2146 OF 2024
Coram: Sudhanshu Dhulia; Ahsanuddin Amanullah
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Answer

Where a person is initially appointed in a work-charged establishment for five years or more and is subsequently appointed without interruption to a post in a pensionable establishment, Rule 18(3) makes the whole period so rendered qualify for pension. Rule 18(6) adds only that much job contract service as would make the employee eligible.

Headnote

Odisha Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1992 — r.18(3) — r.18(6) — Job contract establishment — Work-charged establishment — Qualifying service — Pensionary benefits — Constitution of India — Art. 14 — Odisha Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1992 — r.18(6) — Job contract service — Only so much as makes eligible — Held: Where a job contract employee is brought over to a regular pensionable establishment, only so much of his job contract service as would render him eligible for pensionary benefits is added to his qualifying service. The entire period cannot be counted. (¶14, 15) Odisha Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1992 — r.18(3) — Work-charged service — Prem Singh reading — Held further: Work-charged service of five years or more without interruption, followed by appointment to a pensionable establishment, qualifies for pension in full. The two Judge Bench reading confining Prem Singh to qualifying service does not appear to be correct, the three Judge Bench being quite unambiguous. (¶12, 13) Constitution of India — Art. 14 — Classification between the two establishments — Left open — Held further: Whether the classification between work-charged establishment and job contract establishment is artificial or an unequal classification violative of Article 14 cannot be determined where the Rules were never challenged and the point was never even mentioned. That aspect is left open. (¶16, 18) Odisha Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1992 — Belated appeals by the State — Costs — Held further: Inexcusable delay does not bar examination on merits where a large number of employees and the State Exchequer are affected, but every belatedly filed case is set apart for costs of Rupees One Lakh Fifty Thousand to the employee concerned. Appeals allowed. (¶3, 20)

In the Court's own words
Paragraph 14Be that as it may, we are still unable to grant the same relief to the respondent(s) as has been given to the work-charged employees by this court and as indeed was their prayer before the High Court and also before this Court. The reason being that in the Odisha Pension Rules 1992, a clear distinction has been made between the work-charged establishment and job contract establishment. In order to keep a proper perspective, we need to refer to Rule 18 of the above rules which is as follows:
Paragraph 15As stated earlier, there is a clear distinction between the employees who are in work-charged establishment vis-à-vis those who are in job contract establishment. The distinction becomes obvious from a bare perusal of sub-Rules 3 and 6 of Rule 18 of the Odisha Pension Rules, 1992 where it is given that work-charged employees who have worked in the establishment for a period of five years or more without interruption and are subsequently appointed to the same or another post in temporary or substantive capacity in a pensionable establishment, the period of service rendered by him/her in a work-charged establishment shall qualify for pension under the Odisha Pension Rules, 1992[^2]. Compare this with the provision relating to job contract establishment[^3] for whom it has been specifically stated that in case of a job contract employee, after he/she is brought in pensionable establishment, only that much period as job contract service shall be added to regular service as would make him qualify or eligible for pensionary benefits.
Acts & Sections
r.18(6) Odisha Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1992r.18(3) Odisha Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1992Art. 14 Constitution of India

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Also decided in this judgment
Under the Odisha Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1992, when a job contract employee is brought over to a post created under a regular pensionable establishment, is his entire job contract service counted for pension?Where a three Judge Bench has held that the entire period of work-charged service must be counted for pension, may a later two Judge Bench confine that ruling to counting the service only for qualifying service?Does a Tribunal ruling that rests on a total misinterpretation of a High Court judgment, directing that the entire period of job contract employment be counted for pension, govern later claims?Under Article 14 of the Constitution of India, can a court determine whether the classification between work-charged establishment and job contract establishment is artificial where the Rules were never challenged and no party argued the point?Where the State has filed its appeals belatedly and the delay was never explained in any satisfactory manner, may the Court still examine the matter on merits, and with what consequence to the State?
Plain-language answer prepared by the LexStreak Editorial Desk — verify against the judgment. Source: Supreme Court of India. Corrections