Kohima, September 11 (MExN): The Guwahati High Court will be passing the verdict over the ‘Nagaland Retirement from Public Employment Act 2009’ on September 15 and that the Nagaland Senior Government Employees Welfare Association (NSGEWA) has asserted that they are eagerly waiting for the outcome of the hearing.
The association claimed that the judgment will be a “landmark and historic” if the Guwahati High Court upholds the length of service for retirement as thenceforth that will become a reference judgment for any PIL to demand retirement of the central services’ employess on the basis of the length of service, including the “IAS who are now in favour of 35 years length of service in the state.
The Nagaland Senior Government Servants/Employees Welfare Association in a press note stated: “Of late we are feed with lots of personal views and wishful thinking on service retirement issue from writers and have observed that many of the writings were devoid of reference to service law in India and the constitutional propriety.”
It stated that the recent retirement act passed by the Nagaland Legislative Assembly prescribes among others, 35 years length of service or 60 years of age whichever is earlier for retirement from public employment.
It also added that the provision of the act classifies the government service into two categories for the purpose of retirement. One group will retire on the basis of length of service while another group will retire on age superannuation.
Hence, the NSGEWA has alleged that this classification takes away the tenets of equality before law and violates Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
“It also violates constitutional provision of equal opportunity in the matter of public employment as enshrines under Article 16 of the Constitution of India,” it stated.
Moreover, the State Government had earlier also enacted similar ordinance prescribing 33 years length of service or 57 years of age which ever is earlier. Therefore, “the Guwahati High Court has struck down the 33 years length of service terming it as unconstitutional and violates Article 14 of the Constitution of India. The present act is also in the same footing and is liable to be struck down by the same court”, it added
