Resignation means forfeiture of past service, pension benefits, says HC

Chennai: A full bench of the Madras high court has clarified that resignation from service by a Tamil Nadu state govt servant, even on medical grounds, would entail forfeiture of past service, making them ineligible for pension benefits."The grounds on which resignation is sought are immaterial, and resignation shall only mean forfeiture of past service," the three-judge bench comprising Justice S M Subramaniam, Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy and Justice C Kumarappan said on Thursday.
In service jurisprudence, the expressions ‘superannuation, voluntary retirement, compulsory retirement and resignation' convey different connotations. Voluntary retirement and resignation involve voluntary acts on the part of the employee to leave service. Though both involve voluntary acts, they operate differently, the bench added.One of the basic distinctions is that, in the case of resignation, it can be tendered at any time, but in the case of voluntary retirement, it can only be sought after rendering the prescribed period of qualifying service, the court said, citing the judgment rendered by the Supreme Court in Senior Divisional Manager LIC and Ors Vs Shree Lal Meena.The bench made the findings while answering a reference made in view of conflicting stands taken by various division benches of the court on the issue.As far as the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules are concerned, there are specific provisions entailing the grant of pension on medical grounds. More specifically, Rule 36 speaks about invalid pension. It is granted to a govt servant who, by physical or mental infirmity, is permanently incapacitated for public service, the court said."Therefore, when there is a specific provision designed to deal with a particular instance/case, there is no compelling need to forcefully read it into another provision contemplating a different instance/case. This paves the way for over-interpretation, which is unwarranted, more so when the language of the statute is plain and clear," the judges said.Resignation is a condition of service with a statutorily recognised procedure. The consequences of resignation were agreed to by the employee on entry into service; after resignation, the employee cannot turn around and claim pension benefits on medical grounds. It amounts to approbation and reprobation, and is impermissible under law, the court added.