: Special Holi Wishes & RESUME OF COURT CASES as a prelude to SC Bench hearing 13 March.2015

Respected Shri Kishore Sahab,

Thanks for your good wishes and nice sentiments on the festival of HOLI. I also wish you a very happy and colourful Holi.

The 'resume of the court cases listed for 13th March 2015' is a timely brief for the legal team. All the aspects you have covered with clarity.

I would like to draw your kind attention towards the language of the gazette notification dated 22-06-2000 making some provisions in the Appendix -IV dealing with the Dearness Relief, which reads as under:

"@ 3 (B)      In case of any wage revision in future the rate of dearness relief payable to an employee shall be determined by the Corporation corresponding to the index to which the scale is linked."   

Here my emphasis is on the words "the Corporation" and " an employee". The notification suggests that rate of dearness relief is the subject matter of the Corporation. Further the word 'an employee' suggests that pensioners are not different from employees. In each wage revision the scale of pay are replaced with the revised ones. So for the purpose of determining the dearness relief the prevailing scales have to be taken into account in case of pensioners also.

This spirit of the notification read with the provisions of Reg. 55 of the Pension Rules strengthen our stand that removal of DR Anomaly and Pension updation with each wage revision do not need approval of the Central Govt. and have to be done by the LIC Management as the Corporation has already shown its intent to provide these benefits vide their Board resolution of 2001.

I request your goodself to examine the aforesaid views.

With respected regards,

M P Agnihotri