SRI MAHENDRA KUMAR NANDA vs DEPTT OF POSTS

1 O.A.No. 260/00512 of 2025

CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
CUTTACK BENCH, CUTTACK

O.A.No. 260/00512 of 2025

Reserved on 02.09.2026 Pronounced on 03.09.2026

CORAM:
THE HON’BLE SHRI SUDHI RANJAN MISHRA, MEMBER (J)
THE HON’BLE SHRI PRAMOD KUMAR DAS, MEMBER (A)
1.
Mahendra Kumar Nanda, aged about 59 years,
S/o-Krushna Chandra Nanda (Post man),
Bahugram Sub Post Office, At/Po- Buhugram
Salipur, Dist-Cuttack.
……Applicant
VERSUS


2. Union of India, represented through its
Secretary, Ministry of Communication,
Suchana Mantranalaya New Delhi-110001.

3. Director General of Posts, Dak Bhawan, New
Delhi. – 110001.


4. Chief Post Master General, Bhubaneswar
Circle, P.M.G., Square, Bhubaneswar, District-
Khordha-751001.


5. Director of Postal Accounts, Mahanadi Vihar,
Cuttack, Odisha-753004.


6. Senior Superintendent of Posts Offices,
Cuttack South Division (Cantonment Road)
At-Cantonment, PO- Buxibazar, Cuttack
(Odisha-753001).

7.
The Post Master, Athagarh Head Office,
At/PO/PS- Athagarh, Cuttack (Odisha-
754029).
……Respondents
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For the applicant : Mr. S.B.Mohanty, Counsel

For the respondents : Mr. S.K.Pradhan, Counsel

O R D E R

PRAMOD KUMAR DAS, MEMBER (A):
After quashing the communication dated 03.09.2025
[A/11], in which his request to migrate from NPS to UPS due to
shortfall of one day service out of 10 years, the applicant has
sought to direct the respondents “to include and combine the
joining date (1.2.16) as duty period in order to consider it as
qualifying and training period in view of rule 22 of central civil
service pension regulation and notification of the Govt. dt.
02.10.2022, be qualified towards pension, the applicant be
allowed to be coming under unified pension scheme so as to
render him eligible to get proportionate/minimum pension
payable under unified pension scheme 2025”.
2. Respondents filed their counter stating therein that the
applicant was engaged as Gramin Dak Sevak Branch Postmaster,
Padmapur BO in account with Bahugram SO under Cuttack South
Division. After qualifying in the Limited Departmental
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Competitive Examination (LDCE)-2015 for the Postman Cadre,
vide Memo dated 11.01.2016, applicant was posted to
Kapaleswar SO in the unit of Inspector of Posts, Athagarh Sub
Division. Thereafter, vide letter dated 13.01.2016, he was sent
for the prescribed training from 18.01.2016 to 27.01.2016 by
granting him leave with TRCA on substitute arrangement. After
completion of the training, the applicant was relieved from the
post of GDS BPM Padmapur BO in the Forenoon of 01.02.2016
and joined as Postman, Kapaleswar SO in the Afternoon of
01.02.2016 and he was paid the salary in the post of Postman
w.e.f. 02.02.2016 and became the subscriber of NPS (National
Pension System).
As per the Notification of the Ministry of Finance, New
Delhi, dated 24.01.2025, applicant submitted option [Form A2]
for Migration to Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), which was sent
to Director of Postal Accounts (DAP), Cuttack vide Postmaster,
Athagarh Head Post Office, Athagarh letter No. AC/UPS/2025
dated 06.09.2025. On verification of Form A2 [Migration from
NPS to UPS] submitted by the applicant, the CRA (Central Record
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Keeping Agency) found that the qualifying service period
required for UPS (Unified Pension Scheme) is 10 completed
years, whereas the applicant is short of qualifying service by 01
(one) day and, accordingly, the A2 form of the applicant was
rejected on 03.09.2025 following Rule 13 and Rule 15 of PFRDA
(Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority)
notification dated 19.03.2025 published in the Gazette of India
on 19.03.2025.
The OM dated 02.10.2022 relied on by the applicant has no
application since in the said OM dated 02.10.2022, it has
specifically been provided that in case of Govt. Servant who was
required to undergo a departmental training before regular
appointment to a Group-C Post and was in receipt of pay in a
scale of pay or a stipend or a nominal allowance during such
training, the period of such training shall count as qualifying
service. In other cases, the Government may by order, decide
whether the Government Servant under training, immediately
time spent before appointment to service under that
Government, shall be counted as qualifying service. The
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applicant was neither in receipt of pay in a scale of pay nor
stipend, nominal allowance during such period rather he was
allowed with TRCA of GDS BPM Padmapur Branch Post Office. It
is averred that as the respondents are duty bound and respectful
to rules, there is no unlawful, arbitrary and discriminatory action
committed by them. Accordingly, it is averred that there is no
injustice caused to the applicant in the decision making process
of the matter in not rejecting his request for migrating from NPS
to UPS, this OA deserves to be dismissed.
3. According to Ld. Counsel for the applicant, since the
applicant was relieved from his previous GDS post in the
Forenoon of 01.02.2016 and joined the cadre of Postman in the
Afternoon of the 01.02.2016, his qualifying service is to be
counted from 01.02.2016 till the date of his superannuation on
31.01.2026 for the purpose of completion of qualifying service of
10 years so as to be migrated from NPS to UPS instead of
02.02.2016. He submitted that otherwise also, the applicant is
entitled to UPS since as per the law, the period spent for training
from 18.01.2016 to 27.01.2016 is to be counted towards the
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qualifying service, which has not been taken into consideration
while rejecting his request to migrate from NPS to UPS.
Therefore, rejection of his migration request showing shortfall
service of one day is not sustainable in the eyes of law and,
accordingly, the same is liable to be quashed with direction to
the respondents for acceptance of his request for migrating to
UPS.
4. On the other hand, Ld. Counsel for the respondents
strongly refuted in the counter as also in course of hearing the
argument of the applicant for counting the training period as
qualifying service in the particular case by stating that the very
DoP&T OM dated 02.10.2022 cited by the applicant, has no
application to the case of the applicant and, that the Hon’ble Apex
Court directed for counting the training period where the
candidate after being selected sent for training allowing them
stipend at the minimum pay scale of the post in which the
candidate was selected whereas the applicant in the instant case
was paid the TRCA which he was getting in the post of GDS.
Therefore, in no circumstances, the applicant is eligible to be
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counted the training period for the qualifying service for UPS.
Further, it is stated that on 01.02.2016 the applicant got the
TRCA and not the pay scale in the post of Postman even though
he joined in the Afternoon of the said date. The applicant did not
raise any objection at any point of time relating to payment of
TRCA on 01.02.2016. Therefore, not taking the date 01.02.2016
as qualifying service cannot be faulted with.
5. In view of the submissions made by the applicant and the
counter submission of the respondents, we do not find any
substance on the stand of the applicant that the training period
shall be taken into consideration for counting the qualifying
service in the post of Postman for the purpose of migration to
UPS since the applicant was sent to training while granting him
leave on substitute arrangement and allowing him the TRCA,
which he was getting in the post of GDS BPM Padmapur Branch
Post Office. The OM dated 02.10.2022 relied on by the applicant
cannot come to the rescue of the applicant since it specifically
provides that in case of Govt. Servant who was required to
undergo a departmental training before regular appointment to a
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Group-C Post and was in receipt of pay in a scale of pay or a
stipend or a nominal allowance during such training, the period
of such training shall be counted as qualifying service, and, in
other cases, the Government may by order, decide whether the
Government Servant under training, immediately time spent
before appointment to service under that Government, shall be
counted as qualifying service, which is not the case of the
applicant since the applicant, during training, was neither in
receipt of pay in a scale of pay nor stipend or nominal allowance.
6. However, we find some reasonable force on the
submission of the applicant that since, after completion of the
training, he was relieved from the post of GDS BPM Padmapur
BO in the Forenoon of 01.02.2016 and he joined as Postman,
Kapaleswar SO in the very same day, i.e. in the afternoon of
01.02.2016, his service to the post of Postman should be treated
from 01.02.2016. Ld. Counsel for the respondents tried to
counter this submission by stating that after completion of the
training, the applicant was relieved from the post of GDS BPM
Padmapur BO in the Forenoon of 01.02.2016 and he joined as
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Postman, Kapaleswar SO in the Afternoon of 01.02.2016 and
since he was paid TRAC meant for the post of GDS on 01.02.2016
and, not the pay scale in the post of Postman, not taking the date
01.02.2016 as qualifying service cannot be faulted with. In our
considered view, since the joining of the applicant to the post of
Postman in the Afternoon of 01.02.2016 is not in dispute and
cannot be disputed also, even though the applicant got the TRCA
for 01.02.2016, his joining to the post of Postman cannot be
brushed aside, especially for the sake of counting the said date
for the purpose of pension/pensionary benefits. An employee
who joins duty in the afternoon of a specific date officially
commences service and is treated as an employee from that very
date, though specific financial rules may dictate whether pay and
allowances are drawn for that afternoon half-day. In the case of
Suresh Dubey Vs. District Inspector of Schools and Others,
(2004) 2 UPLBEC 1876, the Hon’ble Allahabad High Court,
relying upon the judgment of the Hon’ble Court in the case of
Bahadur Singh Gaur v. D.I.O.S., Kanpur and others , 1995 All LJ
1292, held that it is date of substantive appointment which is
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relevant date. Corollary of the discussions made herein is that
the applicant must be taken as an appointee from 01.02.2016
and, in such an event, the said date must be counted towards
qualifying service for migrating from NPS (National Pension
System) to UPS (Unified Pension Scheme). In the peculiar facts
and circumstances of the case, respondents are directed to count
the service of the applicant from 01.02.2016 for migration from
NPS (National Pension System) to UPS (Unified Pension Scheme)
only and take appropriate action as per rules, under intimation
to the applicant, within a period of 60 days from the date of
receipt of a copy of this order.
7. In the result, the OA stands disposed of along with pending
MAs, if any. Costs made easy.

(Pramod Kumar Das) (Sudhi Ranjan Mishra)
Member (Admn.) Member (Judl.)



RK/PS




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