The Punjab and Haryana High Court has partially declared the provision of pension deduction in the memo of the Finance Department of the Punjab Government dated 17 August 2009 as illegal. The court said that the condition of pension deduction for not completing the minimum service period of 33 years was added without proper approval, which is illegal.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court, in a decision, has partially declared the provision of pension deduction in the memo of the Finance Department of the Punjab Government dated 17 August 2009 as illegal.
The court clarified that the condition of pension deduction for not completing the minimum service period of 33 years was added without proper approval, which is illegal. This decision has brought relief to thousands of pensioners of the state, who were fighting against it for years.
The petitioner had given this argument in the High Court
Petitioner Baldev Singh Barar and others had argued in the petition filed in the High Court that the Punjab government arbitrarily cut the pension by changing the rules while implementing the recommendations of the Fifth Punjab Pay Commission.
It was clear from the government records that the approval committee headed by the Chief Secretary had decided to fix the pension in accordance with the pension related recommendations of the Central Government on 27 May 2009, but when the Punjab government issued a memo of the Finance Department on 17 August 2009, a provision of reduction in pension for not completing the minimum service period of 33 years was added in it, which was not approved by the approval committee.
The petitioner argued that this provision was added arbitrarily by the government, due to which the pension of thousands of retired employees was cut. The petitioner argued in the court that the Punjab government added this rule without any legal basis, which seriously affected the financial condition of many pensioners after retirement.
‘Center’s recommendations not binding on state government’
The state government, while filing its reply in the High Court, said that the recommendations of the Central Government are not binding on Punjab and the state government is free to take decisions according to its financial position. The government argued that the final notification was issued only after the approval of the Finance Minister.
However, when the court asked the government for evidence of the approval of the approval committee regarding this deduction, the government could not prove it. The court found that the state government implemented the condition of minimum service of 33 years without the approval of the approval committee.
The decision violates rights: Justice Bhardwaj
Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj said in his decision after the hearing that this decision of the government is illegal and violates the rights of pensioners. In the order, the court declared the provision of reduction in pension illegal and ordered it to be removed. The court has asked to re-evaluate the pension of the petitioner and fix the outstanding amount within three months.
‘Pay the dues to the petitioner in two months’
The court ordered the government to pay the dues to the petitioner within two months. If there is a delay in payment, the dues will have to be paid with 6 percent annual interest. As per the court order, a fine of Rs 50,000 will be imposed on the responsible officer, which will have to be deposited in the Poor Patient Welfare Fund of PGI Chandigarh.
