AIRIEF JOURNEY ,THROUGH THE PERISCOPE,FROM MY ARCHIVES, SILVER JUBILEE YEAR 05/12/2021
REMINISCENCES : R.B.KISHORE,PATRON,AIRIEF
1) All are aware that the entire crucial & critical Kurukshetra legal battle of insurance pensioners was spearheaded by Sri Asthana,Organising Secretary,RIEA, Jaipur &also AIRIEF . Pensioners Assns/Fedns & many individual pensioners spoke & sent emails with glowing tribute to this victory as a thorny issue was being settled in pensioners favour after many years, removing darkness & gloom , a pervading gladness & rejoicing was noticed with abundant energy & enthusiasm.
PENSIONERS WERE NOT AWARE OF PENSIONERS OWN PROBLEMS . PENSIONERS DID NOT KNOW ABOUT OUR CHARTER OF DEMANDS. PENSIONERS WERE NOT AWARE OF DR, PENSION,ANAMOLIES, COMMUTATION , MEDICLAIM PREMIUM CALCULATIONS. PENSIONERS WERE NOT AWARE OF MEDICLAIM FACILITY LIKE AMBULANCE & SELECT SCANS ALLOWED FOR REIMBURSEMENT. WITHOUT HOSPITALISATION. LEAST OF ALL, THEY WERE NOT AWARE OF FAMILY PENSION & ALLIED MATTERS
2) Insurance industry is the only industry where employees do not join hands with pensioners.Ultimately,it is to be remembered & appreciated that this verdict confers benefit on ALL groups of pensioners. Today's Employees, whatever cadre they belong, will be Tomorrow's Pensioners one day or the other. Employees & Pensioners are the 2 sides ,Heads & Tails of the same coin. Each one must empathise with others' needs & requirements & work together & in unison for the common cause & welfare.
3) There is an endless catena of crucial & landmark judgements in favour of pensioners at HC/SC levels . Article 14 strikes at arbitrariness in State action and ensures fairness and equality of treatment. The principle of reasonableness, which legally as well as philosophically, is an essential element of equality or non-arbitrariness pervades Article 14 like a brooding omnipresence." The meaning in these sentences is what pensioners in insurance industry are fighting for to plead to remove utter arbitrariness in Institutional & State (UOI ) action.
4) Jaipur Judgement is the 1ST in history to pronounce a verdict for full DR & pension upgradation for insurance sector.This aroused their curiosity, it kindled their enthusiasm. How can anyone's conscience be quiet or indifferent when allround ,everywhere good improvements are taking place & we, the LIC pensioners are cast aside & still linger & live in the 6/1995 pension mould, ie IV Pay Commission, as first notified ? It is here that the Jaipur judgement,MAY 2010, marked a milestone & a fresh breather for entire pensioners' fraternity.
The wave of emails, exchange of ideas, calculations,charts, clarification, updation, the network getting enhanced with many new email ids, the cross-fertilisation & underlying current of oneness & togetherness of ALL pensioners dawned on many. It was indeed a delight & a dejavu .
5)*Justice Chagla in the Mundra case forcefully asserted, " The GOVT should not interfere with the working of autonomous and statutory corporations. LIC is an autonomous corporation independent of the GOVT and it cannot be looked upon as merely as one of the many departments of the GOVT.The only control the GOVT Can exercise is under Sec 21 and that control is exercised in matters of policy only "
6)a)0ur persistent efforts for so long,years ,actually a decade & more continue unabated.
*When we are sure of the correctness, truthfulness,genuineness of our demands,
*when we have placed before LIC Management the modest,legitimate aspirations of a vast body of pensioners,
*when we dinned into their ears all through & all along,the growing, gaping, unbridgeable anamolies charter after charter,
*when we sweated & prepared laborious,painstaking charts & calculations with outlay etc,
*when we attempted all modes & means to achieve our noble plea & request to enlightened management,
*when we highlighted it in ever so many forceful ways in our valuable mouthpiece, Qly Varistha Vaani ,
*when we made all plans & strategies to see that questions on this subject are raised in Parliament,
b)when at many places activists met Minister of State for Finance, several Ministers who matter, influential MPs ,Rahul Gandhi, Hon Ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia, Dinsha Patel, Chaudhary, LIC Board Members, VeerappaMoily, Bhansal, submitted Pithy Petitions & Memorandums with facts & figures
c)when Hon Chairman, AIRIEF Sri Madusudhan Mistry ,with Ahmedabad OBs,Sri G.T.P arekh& others met then Hon FM Pranab Mukerjee on 5/7/2010,pleading for acceptance of Jaipur HC verdict
d)PROMISE & ASSURANCE OF FM : UNITED FORUM OF INSURANCE EMPLOYEES & PENSIONERS COMPRISISNG 13 UNIONS LED BY SRI MAHESH KAUSHIK,FEDER ATION OF LIC CLASS I OFFICE RS AS SOCIATION. S r i V.C.Jain, GS, AIRIEF then is also a signatory.
M after going through our Memorandum and listening to our submission about Court case of Jaipur HC , then ensuing hearing at SC on 14/11/2011, told us to wait till matter is heard at SC but he seems to be convinced on OscarFernandezjee's suggestion vide his letter dt 22 September, 2011 to FM, that as we are 100% owned by Govt. of India, all benefits available to Govt. employees on pension front be extended to us.' HEART WARMING,WA, BRAVO,
7) We felt a sense of disappointment, the lack of commitment & aggressiveness on the part of management, the submissive ,retracing steps pursued by them, sure of the logic of demand & convinced of the correctness of our cause, but unable to fulfil the AIRIEF well laid-out plan , ------yet some ray of hope, some lateral thinking, some bombardment, some reinforcement, perennial telephone talks with Top Mgt ,to keep the problem alive without being thrown out & forgotten in the dead dustbin of history,
let us hope & pray 2013(2022) atleast brings some respite to this long drawn-out struggle
8) WHATEVER IT IS,FROM ALL ANGLES, BY ALL REASONS, WITH ALL CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS IN PENSIONERS FAVOUR, VOX POPULI—VOICE OF THE PENSIONERS –WILL ULTIMATELY PREVAIL. ANY FRICTION POINT OR A THORN WILL BE REMOVED TO ENJOY THE FRAGRANCE FULLY, SOONER THAN LATER. Rest assured,one day all efforts so far made so diligently & with lot of forethought ,will certainly be crowned with success. The taint of sadness is only because of time & age factor. This is the time to collect, mobilise, harness & galvanise,not to murmur or complain. A winner never quits, a quitter never wins.We stay focussed & we shall leave no stone unturned in our onward, dedicated march towards final victory.
9)Whatever it is, we have silently traversed a long road full of hardships & obstacles & atleast reached this goalpost with tremendous patience & perseverance displayed ,ably supported by activists & pensioners fraternity,who earlier were not aware of their problems, & even if they knew ,not knowing the implications& intricacies & complexities of this problem. It was here that quality inputs, case laws, HC & SC judgements & other latest developments were culled, marshalled & put forth in a convincing manner to remove iota of negative thoughts & uphold the reasonableness of the demands, modest in nature, looking to a whopping loss of DR & pension & the glaring anamolies & absurdities as existing today, which should be obliterated ,more so in an egalitarian society & issues concerning Elders & Sr Citizens.
10)Further, it is to be borne in mind that LIC itself , in its letter dt 31/12/2001 & 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 & also to see that different generations of pensioners are protected by merging the pension to a suitable index. "
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 "
The Supreme Court judgement in a similar other case under case NO Appeal(Civil)NO 1289/2007 (Para 25) which read :"The revision of scales of pay as also other allowances is technical in nature. When a benefit is extended to group of employees the effect of such benefit if otherwise comes wi thin the purview thereof must be held to be applicable to other group of employees" and the Jaipur HC judgement was in tune with this Apex court verdict
11) ARTICLE 226 OF CONSTITUTION CONFERS POWERS TO HIGH COURTS & ARTICLE 32 CONFERS POWERS TO SUPREME COURT TO ISSUE WRITS OR MANDAMUS AGAINST GOVTS. THE MASTERPIECE OF SRI KML.ASTHANA IS THE PRELIMINARY OBJECTION ITSELF THAT REVIEW PETITION VIDE ORDER 47, RULE 1 OF CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE ,BUT RULE 7 UNDER ORDER 47 ,AN ORDER OF THE COURT REJECTING SUCH RE VIEW APPLICATION FOR REVIEW shall NOT BE APPEALABLE .BECAUSE OF SUCH SPECIFIC & MANDATORY PR OVISIONS CLEARLY LAID DOWN UNDER LAW . SRI ASTHANA'S SR COUNSEL CAN DISSOLVE & DISMEMBER LIC SR COUNSELS SALVO, IF ANY.
12) -MOU dt 14/1/1994 between LIC & Employees unions was explicitly clear to grant 'Same DR for pensioners as Same DA for Employees' So,it was a gross violation & transgression of announced equality of DR/DA.
*SC AFFIRMS THAT THEY HAVE SKYHIGH POWERS TO CHASE INJUSTICE .
POOR PENSIONERS CASE IS ONE SUCH GLARING ABSURDITY , WANTONLY IMPOSED BY ARROGANT MOF/UOI & COOLLY ACQUIESCED BY LIC . BREACH OF PRINCIPLES, BREACH OF MORALITY, MANIFEST INJUSTICE & INEQUITY ON LESS-PRIVILEGED SECTIONS OF SOCIETY, ELDERS & SR CITIZENS, MAJORITY ABOVE 70 YRS OLD,IS INDEED A SAD COMMENTARY WHICH SC BENCH SHD ABHOR & CONDEMN & ORDER COSTS & INTEREST. TO QUOTE SC-' "There is no reason why the relief cannot be and should not be appropriately moulded while disposing of an appeal arising by grant of Special Leave under Article 136 of the Constitution."
13)The Hon'ble Kerala High Court goes on to observe, …"the status of the Corporation(KSWC) as a jurist person, as a body corporate with a common seal and its existence would be scuttled and subservient to the dictates of the Government, as if the Corporation is a department in the Government. This is plainly impermissible." (from a fine letter dt 6 March,2012 from Sri RP.Donde to ED,RBI,Mumbai)
When we toiled & moiled for 35/36 long years to build a strong foundation, erect a fine adaptable institution of world repute,wiping every tear of every family,through settlement of maturity & death claims with sympathy & empathy ,but WHO is there to wipe the tears of pensioners ,sad commentary indeed for a highly qualified, skilled human power we created, trained, nurtured, & installed as horsepower in manpower is more important & none to look after pensioners welfare & progress.
It is destiny that pensioners are harassed, it was destiny that Officers did not have any wage revision for 10 long years 1973-1983,how much loss we suffered in silence ! It should be destiny again to win the finals
14) LET US WORK TOGETHER TO ENHANCE THE WELFARE OF ENTIRE PENSIONERS FRATERNITY. STRENGTHEN OUR HANDS. WE PRAY OUR DEVOTION & DEDICATION, OUR IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEMS THREADBARE, COUPLED WITH OUR PLANS & STRATEGIES & PUBLIC RELATIONS & ABOVE ALL A DEEP SENSE OF COMMITMENT WILL DELIVER THE GOODS FINALLY.
LET SMILE DAWN ON THE FACES OF OLD PENSIONERS IN THE TWILIGHT OF THEIR LIVES.
'Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only Light can do that !
Hate cannot drive out hate, only Love can do that – ' -Martin Luther King, Jr
15) Two chances to appeal should normally be enough to decide a case. The third or fourth appeals to the high courts or the Supreme Court by a person who has not even won once before should be rejected at the threshold. The present disarray in the judicial system simply does not justify another gamble by the rich, however eminent the counsel may be, and however incompetent the judge below is perceived to be. Lawyers should also not prod clients to file appeals in hopeless cases. As it is, even in the Supreme Court, dozens of review petitions are summarily dismissed in chambers every day during lunch time. Some of them return wearing another hat called "curative petition" and suffer the same fate..says Sri MJ Antony in Business Standard
16) ALL APPRECIATE & ADMIRE THE TENACITY & DOGGEDNESS IN ENABLING, UNDER SO DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES THE REACH & REPERCUSSIONS OF THE VERDICTS RENDERED, WHICH WILL BE A BOON TO PENSIONERS & ONLY SET RIGHT THE INEQUITY, INJUSTICE, DITHER & DELAY, NO DECISION ON LIC BOARD (24/11/2001) RESOLUTION FOR 10 YEARS,(21years) & WHEN STEP BY STEP OBSTACLES ARE CONQUERED, APT & ASSERTIVE
17 )LET ALL GROUPS OF PENSIONERS GET BENEFIT OF PENSION UPGRADATION WHICH THEY RICHLY DESERVE . DO NOT CONSIGN THEM TO OBLIVION OR DUSTBIN AS IT WERE.
DO NOT TRY TO REWRITE HISTORY.HISTORY IS IN THE MAKING. LEARN LESSONS FROM HISTORY.
LET US EMBRACE ONE ANOTHER AS A FAMILY & A FRATERNITY WITH DESERVED SALUTARY BENEFITS
A CLASPED HAND IS BETTER THAN A CLENCHED FIST !
18) FOR ALL THE PAINS WE HAVE UNDERTAKEN &
THE LEGAL LANGUAGE WE LEARNT ,
THE LINGUAFRANCA OF SC ,TERMINOLOGIES & SHIBBOLETHS WE MASTERED, &
WE DIGESTED THE PENSION RULES MORE THOROUGHLY THAN EVER BEFORE,
SC MUST GRANT ALL PENSIONERS THEIR TRUE, MODEST, LEGITIMATE DEMANDS OF PENSION UPGRADATION WITH FULL DR , AS AN UPRIGHT COURT UPHOLDING FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS & A SPRINGBOARD FOR PENSIONERS
19) Destiny is simply d strength of ur desires.
If u cry at a trouble, it grows double!!
If u laugh at d trouble,
It disappears like a bubble!!
Life is more beautiful than imagination
R.B.KISHORE, PATRON,AIRIEF : 05/12/2021:SILVER JUBILEE SPECIAL
(MY ARCHIVES)
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