Note: This story has not been edited by LegalSeva and is generated from a news syndicate feed.  

Chandigarh: In a major respite to retired employees of Haryana govt, the Punjab and Haryana high court has made it clear that an employee who retires on completion of year of service but prior to provi- sioning of increment, would be entitled to an annual increment.

Justice Pankaj Jain passed these orders while allowing five petitions filed by retired employees of Haryana govt. The issue raised in the petition was with regard to challenging Rule 10 of Haryana Civil Services (Revised Pay) Rules, 2008

State govt grants an annual increment to its employees and pensioners on July 1 and Jan 1 every year. As per the current practice, if a person retires on June 30 or Dec 31, he is disentitled to increment which he earned for the six- month period prior to June 30 or Dec 31. With the HC orders, employees who retired before July 1 or before Dec 31 would also be eligible to the incre ment which they were entit led to had they worked till that date. “We find that the Rule 10 of Rules, 2008, goes contrary to the judgment pas sed by the Supreme Court as well as by the division bench of this court, and therefore to the said extent where it denies granting of increment to an employee who has retired on June 30 or Dec 31 of the ye ar, is held to be bad in law. We, therefore, read down the Rule 10 of the Rules, 2008 to mean that one annual increment would be earned to an employee on the last day of his service, for the services rende red by him in the preceding one year from the date of retirement with good behaviour and efficiency.

 Accordingly, the ‘uniform date of annual increment’ mentioned in Rule 10 would mean completion of the year as on July 1 and Jan 1 of every year,” the HC has held.

Arguing before HC, advocate Sandeep Goyat, while representing the petitioners in this case, submitted that the rule is ultra vires to the Constitution as it seeks to take away a right available to an employee for one increment on completion of his service on the basis that the increment would be only drawn from July 1. Thus, if a person retires on June 30, he is disentitled to increment which he has earned for the six months period prior to June 30, the counsel had argued.