Dear Editor,
Come Wednesday, it is going to be
crucial for the pensioners for this long
legal battle what is rightly termed as Kurukshetra
war has to come to an end as we hope that there will be no more
adjournments and the Hon. Judge will deliver his judgment.Given below is a
note on some crucial issues which figured in the Respondent's affidavit about
which the pensioners are very much concerned.
With regards
R.K.Viswanathan
The issues
which cropped up in the respondent affidavit in CCP 760/2010 about which we are
very much concerned are :-
The
respondent stated in the affidavit that allowing 100% neutralization, up-grading
pension in terms of Board resolution shall be made from the date of its
notification in the official gazette and no arrears will be paid. Could they
forget their own department’s request vide their letter dated 31-12-2001 from
the Executive Director (PER/HRD-OD/OIC) to the Jt. Secretary (Insurance and
Banking) for amending the pension rules and the urgent need for its Gazette
notification? Twelve years have gone and GOI WAS SITTING QUIET on this issue with
ulterior motives.
With regard
to the effective date of implementation of the Board resolution and the arrears
to be paid, Hon Justice Bhandari in his judgment clarified that the Central Government cannot sit on the
decision taken by the Board within the frame work of the rules. However in the
present matter despite the Board resolution petitioners were not given relief for
the reason that GOI has not taken any decision in the aforesaid resolution
dated 24-11-2001. If there are changes
in the already existing benefit of pension then no cut off date can be provided
and the benefit on account of change in the pensioner benefit WOULD HAVE
RETROSPECTIVE EFFECT. One could go on digressing and twisting the matter just
to prolong the issue but ultimately truth will triumph.
R.K.Viswanathan