Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, May 16: Observing that right to pension cannot be taken away by a mere executive fiat or administrative instructions, the High Court has quashed the Government communications denying therein pensionary benefits and directed release of same to the employee.
The petitioner-Mohammad Shafi, a former Sanitary Inspector in the Indian Army who served the force for over 20 years approached the court challenging the various communications issued by his higher officials on the grounds that the hard-earned benefit which accrues to an employee, being in the nature of property, cannot be denied to him and the terminal emoluments, including gratuity, etc., cannot be withheld under any circumstance whatsoever, as has been held by the Supreme Court.
Justice Chowdhary while allowing the plea of petitioner-Shafi said, the respondents seem to have slept over the matter for a period of more than two decades and had taken services of the petitioner as Sanitary Inspector and, now, they cannot be permitted to take a U-turn by saying that the post held by the petitioner was not sanctioned by the competent authority.
While quashing all communications in question, the court directed the authorities to conduct a proper review through the SPARSH portal and release all his pensionary benefits, including gratuity, calculated based on the last pay drawn as a Sanitary Inspector.
“…the right of pension cannot be taken away by a mere executive fiat or administrative instruction…..pension and gratuity are not mere bounties or given out of generosity by the employer, but the employee earns these benefits by virtue of his long, continuous, faithful and unblemished service”, the court recorded.
Court added that the pension is a property of the employee under Article 31(1) and any interference with it is violative of the Constitution. Protecting the pension rights of a retired Sanitary Inspector the Court has reiterated that pension a hard-earned benefit which accrues to an employee and any meddling will be a breach of the Constitution.
The court upon meticulously examining the arguments of advocate Areeb said, the well-established legal position on pension rights, citing Supreme Court judgments which have repeatedly recognized pension as a right earned through service, not a mere government handout.
“The Government’s acceptance of his service throughout this period was undeniable and any administrative delay or lapse on the part of the government in formally sanctioning the post on the SPARSH portal could not be used to deprive Shafi of his rightful pension”, read the judgment.
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