[Pension] Employees Of Statutory Organizations Running In Losses Can't Seek Parity With Employees Of Profit Making Corporations: Tripura High Court

The Tripura High Court recently observed that employees of statutory organizations cannot claim, as a matter of right, the pensionary benefits, as provided to few of the corporations who have been able to generate their own funds with one-time support from the state government.The observation was given by Justice Arindam Lodh while dealing with a batch of writ petitions filed against several State government undertakings, including Tripura Road Transport Corporation, Tripura Tea Development Corporation, Tripura Rehabilitation and Plantation Corporation, Tripura Handloom and Handicrafts Development Corporation, Tripura Schedule Tribe Co-operative Development Corporation, Tripura Small Industries Corporation, Tripura Jute Mills, Tripura Industrial Development Corporation, Tripura State Co-operative Marketing Federation and Tripura Khadi and Village Industries Board. The employees working in these organizations sought similar Pension benefit as granted to autonomous bodies like Tripura Board of Secondary Education.The High Court noted that these autonomous bodies had created separate scheme and had been able to generate own funds from their own contribution and opened subscriber accounts with specified schemes of the organization like LICI, banks etc.On the other hand, the Respondent Corporations, though were supposed to be profit making, were utilizing the funds provided by the State government even to the extent of 100%, and were yet running in loss."In this situation, in my opinion, the employees of these statutory organizations cannot claim, as a matter of right, the pensionary benefits, as provided to few of the corporations who have been able to generate their own funds with one-time support from the state government. Furthermore, the employees of the present batch of writ petitions cannot be treated equally to the employees of those organizations whose pension schemes have been introduced under different schemes with the assistance of some other organizations like LICI, bank, etc., while the pension of the members of the petitioner's organization is determined on the basis of the pension scheme subscribed by each of them during his/her service tenure in the respective organization and are primarily controlled and regulated by EPFO. As such, the petitioners cannot complain of discrimination having regard to the equity clause enshrined under Article 14 of the Constitution of India," the Court held. Court further remarked that pension is not a one-time benefit but is a continuous liability and whether or not it is to be granted or to whom it is to be granted depends on the government, the court cannot interfere into it."The writ court while exercising the power of judicial review under Article 226 of the Constitution of India will not as a court of appeal sit over the well-reasoned report of the expert body following the well-neigh principle of self-restraint in the matter of policy decisions of the government. As a logical corollary, both the questions set out here-in-above for decision have been answered in negative."In view of the above, the court dismissed the petition.Case Title : All Tripura EPS Pensioners' and Employees' Association v The State of TripuraCitation: 2022 LiveLaw (Tri) 38Click Here To Read/Download Judgment

[Pension] Employees Of Statutory Organizations Running In Losses Can't Seek Parity With Employees Of Profit Making Corporations: Tripura High Court

LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK

Tags