P L D 1972 Lahore 718 (PLP)

4. The subject‑matter of leave is contained in rules 5, 6 and 7 of the WAPDA Employees Leave Rules, which read as follows:‑ ??????????? "

5. Earned Leave.‑(a) Leave on average pay shall be earned at the rate of 1/11th of the period spent on duty and the maximum that may be accumulated shall be 4 months. Any period earned in excess of 4 months shall be credited to a separate head in the leave account from which leave may be allowed on average pay‑ (i) on medical certificate; (ii) for education; or (iii) rest and recreation outside Pakistan and India. (b) Leave on half average pay shall be earned at the rate of one month for each year of duty and accumulation of such leave shall be without limit. It shall be permissible to convert leave so allowed into leave pay on production of a medical certificate up to a maximum of 12 months on average pay. This conversion will be allowed at the rate of one day of leave on average pay for two days of leave on half average pay. (c) The earned leave may be availed of during or after the period of service, but is the case of leave after the period of service shall be limited to four months." (This last sentence was added on 2‑12‑1964). The grant of leave after the period of service will be at the discretion of the Authority in. case in which service has been terminated for reasons other than the following:‑ (1) Superannuation; (2) Abolition of post; and (3) Expiry of contract. "

6. Amount of leave to be taken.‑‑The amount of earned leave on average pay that may be taken at one time shall not exceed four months. This limit may be raised to‑‑ (a) Six months when leave is taken‑ (i) on medical certificate, or (ii) for rest and recreation outside Pakistan or India, and (b) 12 months for education outside Pakistan or India.

7. Leave salary.‑-Leave salary shall be calculated on the basis of average pay drawn during the 12 complete months immediately preceding the month in which an employee pro?ceeds on leave, and shall to payable in arrears." A perusal of the above rules will show that if a person wanted to take earned leave on the expiry of his service then he could not be given leave more than four months. This is what the defendant in this case has done and its order, therefore, cannot be called illegal in any manner. When confronted with this situation, learned counsel submitted that the following sentence in sub‑rule (c) of rule 5 was added on 2‑12‑1964:‑ "but in the case of leave after the period of service shall be limited to four months." Learned counsel argued that this additional sentence cannot be given any retrospective effect and, therefore, the leave which had already been earned should have been calculated according to the original rule 5 on the basis of which, the plaintiff was allegedly entitled to the leave as he claims. The contention has .no force. In the contract of employment with the plaintiff, .it was written that‑ "Travelling allowance and leave at such rates as may be prescribed by the Authority from time to time." which means that provision with regard to leave was liable to be made from time to time. It is conceded that at the time when the plaintiff joined the service no rule on the subject existed and the WAPDA Employees Leave Rules were promulgated on 30‑10‑1961 (to be effective from 1‑4‑1958). The man rules, therefore, did not exist at the time the plaintiff joined service and any addition in them, during the period of service, would govern the plaintiff. Even apart from this Rule 6, as reproduced above, was quite comprehensive and stated that if earned leave was to be taken at one time, then it could not exceed four months. It is conceded that the leave in question was being claimed at one time and in that view of the matter it could not exceed four months.

5. Another thing to be noticed is that in the grounds of appeal filed in this Court, the plaintiff has written as follows:‑ "The brief fact leading to the present appeal are that the appellant was appointed by the respondent on 1‑5‑1959 initially as Chief Accountant Electricity Department and thereafter as Chief Auditor, WAPDA on contractual basis." In the "WAPDA Employees Leave Rules", it is written that these rules shall apply to all employees except, "those engaged on special terms on contractual basis." From the statement of facts, as given in the above‑mentioned memorandum of appeal, there?fore, it is evident that on his own pleadings, the plaintiff was not entitled to the benefit of the rules which he is trying to invoke in his case. If the Department has shown any indulgence to him in this respect, he should be contended with the same and should not have extended his arms to claim more.

6. The result of the above discussion is that this appeal has mo merits and is dismissed with costs. Appeal dismissed