If the state of affairs of pensioners in Punjab has opened up a “Pandora’s box”, what can be said about Defence Pensioners ?

The problems being faced by pensioners in Punjab is zilch when compared to the millions of pensioners, disability pensioners and family pensioners at the receiving end of the MoD, PCDA(P) and our Record Offices. Despite serious and laudable efforts by the Services HQrs, the problem, at the moment, appears unmanageable.

But it is worth reading how the Hon’ble Supreme Court has castigated the State of Punjab on the subject as reported in the Indian Express today :

Denial of retiral benefits to a Class III employee by the Punjab government seems to have opened a Pandora’s box. The Supreme Court has not only dismissed Punjab’s Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court verdict allowing retiral benefits to the aggrieved retired employee Karnail Singh but also called for the complete details of the status, period and reason for delay in all those cases of government employees, who have not been given retiral benefits even a long time after their attaining superannuation.

Complying with the Apex Court’s January 28 order, the state government admitted that as many as 2,790 government employees of different ranks and 66 departments were still awaiting pension and other benefits after their retirement.

As per admission, the government was sitting on retiral benefits of its employees for as long as 22 years and also many retired employees had already died without getting pension and other benefits.

Citing various reasons like pending court litigation, criminal cases, departmental inquiries and various objections, the government admitted that employees of Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner’s office and Revenue, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management were awaiting pension for 22 years, those of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited for 19 years; Food, Civil Supply and Consumer Affairs for over 17 years; Dairy Development for 16 years, several teachers for over 15 years and hundreds of employees from various departments who were not paid retiral benefits up to 15 years after retirement.

In a comprehensive affidavit annexed with 244 pages, Secretary to Punjab Department of Pensions and Welfare of Pensioners, HIS Grewal, submitted that the matter is being given top priority, utmost seriousness and strict directions have been issued to all the Administrative Secretaries to decide the pending cases expeditiously. The affidavit will come up before the Supreme Court on February 21, the next date of hearing in the case. On January 28, the SC division bench, comprising Justice GS Singhvi and Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly, had taken on record an affidavit filed by Secretary, Personnel, BS Sudan, which was not found satisfactory.

Earlier, the SC had also sought similar information from Punjab and Haryana High Court Registrar General, who had submitted that as many as 766 writ petitions and 106 regular second appeals were pending before the HC in relation to the claim of employees for grant of retiral benefits. Two such cases were of 1989 while a few were of 1990 and 1999.

It was on November 26 that the SC had dismissed Punjab’s SLP while observing, “Punjab is known for indulging in frivolous litigation involving low paid employees. This SLP is one such piece of litigation in which legality of the order passed by HC single judge directing payment of pension to respondent has been challenged.”

“We regretfully note that employees and officers of different cadres are forced to litigate in the court by spending their hard earned money for vindication of their legal and constitutional rights for payment of retiral dues,” the SC Judges had noted.