By Rajesh Pandey
The Allahabad High court has said that it is undesirable for a court or tribunal to say that a litigant should be thankful to the court for allowing his petition, as an order is passed on merit of a case and is it is not that some favour is extended to a litigant.
While allowing a petition filed by one Avinashi Prasad, a retired railway employee, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Vikas Budhwar directed the respondent railway authority concerned to accord benefit of old pension scheme and other pensionary benefits as provided under the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993 to the petitioner with all consequences, in accordance with law.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Allahabad bench dismissed the orginal application (OA) of Prasad without considering the fact that his services were regularized and he was accorded the benefits of seniority from 1990 but was denied old pension scheme.
“Also CAT had said that the petitioner should be thankful that he has been accorded the benefit of a regular employee unlike hundreds of others who are litigating each and every day without getting such relief. Consequently, the original application was dismissed”, said petitioner’s counsel.
The high court said that the observations made by the Tribunal that the applicant/petitioner should be thankful that he has been accorded the benefit of a regular employee unlike hundreds of others, who are litigating each and every day before the Tribunal without getting such relief, to say least are wholly uncalled for.
“The observations give a feeling as if the Tribunal while passing the order in favour of the applicant/petitioner and/or the respondents in according appointment under the orders of the court have extended some favour to the petitioner. Whatever orders are passed by the Tribunal/Court are based on the entitlement of the parties in accordance with law and there is nothing to be thankful about the same.”,added the bench in its order dated August 13.