Karnataka HC Upholds Counting Retired Teacher’s 10 Years At Grant-Aided Institution Toward Pension Despite Late Claim

The respondent served as a teacher and lecturer at an aided institution from 2 May 1989 to 5 May 1999, before joining Government service on 6 May 1999.

He retired in 2019. His pension was calculated without including his earlier aided-institution service.

The State rejected his request to count that service, relying on the time limit in Rule 224-B of the Karnataka Civil Services Rules (KCSR). The Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal allowed his application and directed that the service be counted for pension. The State challenged that order before the High Court.

Rule 224-B of the KCSR, as set out in the Tribunal’s order, requires an employee seeking to count previous service for pension to apply within three years of joining Government service or by 31 July 2014, as applicable.

The High Court applied the principle that service rendered by a teacher in an aided institution, including service before or during the institution’s admission to grant-in-aid, is countable towards qualifying service for pension.

It also relied on the Karnataka High Court’s decision in H. Chandrashekar v. State and Others, W.P. No. 4513/2019, decided on 15 December 2021, concerning the counting of aided-institution service under Rule 247-A of the KCSR.

The High Court found no basis to interfere with the Tribunal’s direction to count the respondent’s service from 2 May 1989 to 5 May 1999.

The institution was already admitted to grant-in-aid when the respondent was appointed; only approval of his appointment followed later. The Court held that the delay in approval did not defeat his claim. Nor did the absence of a timely application make the service disappear or prevent it from being counted for pension.

The Tribunal’s directions to revise his pension and pensionary benefits and grant consequential benefits remained undisturbed.