RB KISHORE'S ARTICLE CONTINUED....2.

                RB KISHORE                

Executive Director (Retd.)

Vice President, All India Retired Insurance Employees Federation

 PROGRESSION STEP BY STEP

  LIC Board Resolution - aftermath of series of letters from CO to MOF/UOI      -  planned efforts & litigation by Sri Asthana.

(i) It will be gratifying to note that hectic efforts and strategies were employed to meet all top executives of LIC, Ministry of Finance (MOF) officials right upto Secretary for many years, submit various Notes and Charts for all cadres clearly pointing out such gross differences.  Finally all independent Board Directors we met, submitted memorandum and clarified the issues.  The 110 minute closed door meeting with Sri GN Bajpai with the AIRIEF team led by Sri Sunil Shastri, S/Sri HC Mehta, CS Murty, RB Kishore, JK Karulkar with in-depth analysis led after few months to the birth of the now eternally famous Board Resolution dated 24/11/2001 to allow Full DR to pre-8/97 pensioners & same weightage in pension as will be granted in wage agreements.

(ii) Board Resolution cannot be treated as a scrap of paper, it is a sacred Document containing solutions and seed for solution of pensioners problems and the demands  are real and modest, genuine and legitimate.

Here is the important and CRUCIAL line in the Note prepared by EDP paving the way for the Board Resolution:  

“It may be mentioned that such a  provision to upgrade the pension due to periodic revision in case of Central Govt. employees is incorporated in the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, on the basis of which LIC of India (Employees ) Pension Rules 1995 have been drafted."

Further, it is to be borne in mind that LIC itself, in its SECRET letter dt. 31/12/2001 secured under RTI & 11/8/2003, to MOF/UOI state clearly 

“there is an urgent need to rationalize the DR structure available to different groups of pensioners in order to reduce the administrative  inconvenience  and also to see that  different  generations of pensioners are protected by merging the pension to a suitable index.”  

This clinches the issue of successive pension revisions with every wage revision.  It has a vital bearing on continued pension upgradation.  It stretches and goes beyond Board Resolution to capture full and continuous pension revision at CPI 600, 1148, 1740, 2328, 2994.

It is also added “Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, on which LIC  (Employees) Pension rules has been broadly designed, contains such an upgradation formula corresponding to revisions effected for Central  Govt. Employees.”       

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(iii) It is these monstrous  anomalies and discrepancies and continued mounting of losses to pensioners  as also the sad spectacle of deaths of pensioners, that compelled Sri KML.Asthana, Jaipur, himself a practicing lawyer, to approach the Rajasthan HC to redress their grievances of twin issues of Full DR, same as was granted for post-8/97 pensioners and employees as also pension upgradation after every wage revision.

(iv) Jaipur Single judge Hon Bhandari in his order dt 12/1/2010 has observed as follows:-

“Learned counsel for petitioners has further submitted that there exists anomaly even in regard to the revision of the pay scale. The benefit of revision in the pay scale from time to time was not extended to the pensioners. In view of aforesaid, even an officer retiring in the higher pay scale started getting less pension than to the employee retiring subsequently in lower pay scale.  Aforesaid aspect was also considered along with the first issue, by the Board in its meeting held on 24.11.2001.

Hon’ble Rajasthan High Court has held that on the basis of date of retirement there cannot be any discrimination between the Pensioners inter se.  All pensioners are entitled to revision of pensions as and when pay scales are revised. The decision of the Board taken in its meeting dated 24/11/2001 but not implemented on account of misnomer of approval of the Central Government has been directed to be implemented with the above modifications.

(v) While dismissing the appeal of LIC on 21/1/2011, the HC Division Bench of Jaipur observed: “The Board of LIC, who is the appellant before us against the judgment of the learned Single Judge, had itself taken a decision to remove the disparities and the discrimination with regard to the payment of Dearness Allowance and pension to the retired employees under its resolution of the Board dt. 24.11.2001,  which was in public interest.  It could not and should not have filed the present appeal against the judgment of the learned Single Judge as the learned Single Judge has provided an umbrella to the appellant for the implementation of the decision of the Board dt. 24.11.2001 on the categorical statement made by the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Union of India and not assailed in appeal by the Union of India.”

(vi) Combining the above part of the Jaipur Single judge Bench order and the portions of the ED(P)’s  letter dt. 31/12/2001 and also the DB judgment of Jaipur HC Bench, it is crystal clear that the Board had approved the proposal for both 100% DR neutralization for  pre-Aug 1997 retirees and upgradation of pension  as per the scales of pay revised from 1/8/1997.  At the time of the said Board meeting, the latest wage revision was only that w.e.f  1/8/1997.   So when the principle of upgradation is accepted, it will extend  to the further wage revision dates of 1/8/2002 and 1/8/2007 as well and all existing pensioners will have to be provided benefits of upgradation arising from such wage revisions.

(vii) When before SC BENCH on 14 Nov 2011,SR COUNSEL SHRI SALVE said LIC is prepared to honour, LIC will pay, IT can only be for PENSION REVISION as case was 654/2007 which  is explicitly for PENSION UPGRADATION.  

(viii )SC BENCH, on 17/10/2012 issued a clarificatory order asking LIC  to remit within 8 weeks in the Registry of HC the amount due to the pensioners i.e. writ petitioners wef the date of their eligibility to get retiral benefits.

Certainly, this cannot be DR arrears only as that needs only 1 day to calculate and further CCP 760/2010  in relation to WP654/2007 on pension upgradation only in Jaipur HC is after four successive victories for pensioners. SJ Hon Bhandari’s judgment has to be honoured in letter and spirit. Difference in Pension and DR is what is referred to and that too from the date of retirement, not 1/8/97.

(To be continued)