ups_01169 — Rule 48 of the CCS (Pension) Rules provides for automatic Voluntary Retirement from service on completion of thirty years of service on notice of three months if he / she is not under suspension

Rule 48 of the CCS (Pension) Rules provides for automatic Voluntary Retirement from service on completion of thirty years of service on notice of three months if he / she is not under suspension — This chunk is a summary of the judgment in the case of Ved Prakash Sharma v. Secretary, Ministry of Communication and IT, Department of Posts and others, which rules that an applicant who serves a pr... — Facts: Letter, dated 14-10-2009, Memo, dated 18-2-2010 and Letter, dated 8-3-2010 which relates to a show-cause notice issued to the Applicant to join duty and to be proceeded against him departmentally and also rejection of his voluntary retirement are being challenged. The Applicant herein who had attained 55 years of age and had put in 30 years of service had served a notice of Voluntary Retirement of three months under FR 56

(k) (1) on the Respondents on 6-6-2009. As that notice had not referred to the correct rule, a communication was sent to the Applicant which resulted in Letter, dated 17-7-2009 to the Respondents whereby Rule 48 of the CCS (Pension) Rules was referred to. However, request for Voluntary Retirement was turned down due to a contemplated disciplinary case. The Counsel for the Applicant states that FR 56

(k) (1) on three months' notice for Groups 'A' and 'B' posts, it is not open to the appropriate authority to withhold permission unless the Applicant is under suspension. He relied on a judgment of the Tribunal and an Apex Court judgment to sustain his request. In the case of D.N. Madan v. Union of India and others [ O.A. No. 87 of 2004 ], decided on 15-7-2004, it has been held that under Rule 48 of CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, on completion of thirty years of qualifying service, acceptance of notice is not required. In this back-drop, notice under Rule 48 of the Pension Rules given on 17-7-2009, he is deemed to have retired on 18-10-2009 and entitled to the benefits as admissible to a retiree. The Respondent sustains their submission that notice under FR 56

(k) (1) was not in accordance with rules and as the second notice under Rule 48 of Pension Rules was issued, a contemplated disciplinary proceeding on account of absence of the Applicant was in vogue, as such the permission to retire him has been withheld which does not suffer from any infirmity. The Tribunal considered the case and held that Rule 48 of the CCS (Pension) Rules clearly provides on completion of thirty years of service on notice of three months, an automatic voluntary retirement and the only impediment is that, one should not be under suspension which is not in the present case. The judgment in the case of Thakur Ajeet Singh v. Union of India and others [ 2004 (1) ATJ 440 ], rules that three months' notice under Rule 48 of the Pension Rules does not require any permission. Moreover, the issue had been led to rest by the Apex Court in Tek Chand v. Dile Ram [ 2001 SCC (L&S) 555 ] for voluntary retirement with three months' notice under Rule 48 of CCS (Pension) Rules. Paras. 35, 36, 37 of the Tek Chand case has been reproduced to state so. Hence it was held: