COURTESY:R B KISHORE
To
The
Governor,
Reserve
Bank of India,
Central
Office,
Mumbai
400 001.
Respected
Sir,
THE
SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENT ON INCLUSION OF
At the
outset, let me say that hundreds of our retired Pensioners/Ex Gratia recipient
colleagues including those who are in their twilight years and who had
contributed immensely in the formative years of the RBI to enhance its prestige
and image, join me in sending our heartfelt greetings and congratulations
to you, Sir, for having been conferred with the coveted ‘Best Central Bank
Governor Award’ for 2014 by the prestigious international magazine ‘Euromoney’,
mentioning in its citation that ‘Dr. Rajan’s tough monetary medicine combated
the storm ravaging the deficit-ridden economy in the recent emerging market
crisis’.
We
also take this opportunity to say how you have rekindled hopes in our
minds of getting our dues in the form of Pension updation for which we have
been waiting for the last several years. Sir, you are aware
that the issue of updation of pension has eluded us for the last 12 years and
we all, as a community of senior citizens, are in restless state as many of our
colleagues have already left for heavenly abode with a dream of updation
holding close to their hearts. Such a sordid chapter has never come to our
share as the illustrious former governors like late Shri R N Malhotra and Dr
Bimal Jalan stood like a rock behind us.
While expressing our sincere thanks for your kind efforts in the matter for the
last one year, we submit before you one recent relevant verdict of the Supreme
Court (SC) for your kind consideration.
Sir, before referring to the SC
verdict, we may briefly touch upon the recent developments at the Bank’s end.
After the Bank’s proposal in the matter, vide D.O. letter dated 11th
October 2011, to the Ministry of Finance (MoF), there were spate of
irrelevant queries on it by the MoF only to deny what is legitimately due
to us. Finally, on your kind intervention, our hopes were raised and a much talked proposal came from MoF with a rider,
amongst others, that the pension updation should be based on Pay plus Grade Pay
and no other allowances available to retirees from the Bank be considered for
computing pension.
We are of the considered opinion that our
community being in helpless state on account of delay of twelve years in
revision / updation of pension,
wanted to grab whatever proposed by MoF before dying, as the time is not by our
side. In our earlier submissions (Copy of our letter dated 11th
Nov. 2013 to you enclosed for your ready reference), we had placed all
facts before you in the matter, which are undoubtedly in favour of our
legitimate demand. Now, in respect of MoF proposal to exclude allowances for
computing pension, we have certain apprehensions, especially in view of SC
verdict, which we submit here for your sympathetic considerations.
As per recent Supreme
Court judgment dated November 27, 2013 by Justice G.S.SINGHVI and
Justice KURIAN JOSEPH, Non Practicing Allowance (NPA) available to
Government Doctors shall form part of basic pay for computation of their
pension with retrospective effect
from 1-1-1996. The Ministry of Finance had earlier refused to take NPA for
computing pension and in fact they had filed a review
petition before the Supreme Court which was dismissed
in July 2014 by the SC. The Government of India, Ministry of
Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Pension and P.W.,
therefore, vide
their order O.M. dated 21st October; 2014
(Copy enclosed along with news item on it.) implemented
the SC order with retrospective effect from 1-1-1996.
The Supreme Court has held that "The
expression 'emoluments' means basic pay as defined in Rule 9(21)(a)(i) of the
Fundamental Rules which a Government servant is receiving immediately before
his retirement or on the date of his death and will also include Non Practicing
Allowance granted to the Medical Officer in lieu of private practice."
Thus,
even in terms of the aforementioned definition, the N.P.A.
would
be part of pay.
Further, the Supreme Court has stated
that yet again in V. Kasturi v. Managing Director, State Bank of India, Bombay
and Anr., the Apex Court pointed that in D.S. Nakara's case (supra) a
distinction has been made between a new scheme and a liberalized pension
scheme. When a new scheme comes into force, the same may not apply to the
persons who had retired prior thereto, but when there is a revision in the
existing scheme by way of upward revision, the scheme should be applied. As
such the Non Practicing Allowance shall count as 'pay' for all service
benefits including retirement benefits as hitherto for doctors in service of
the GOI.
In our case as well, if
only Pay and Grade Allowance has to be taken for computation of pension
updation, then it could apply only to prospective employees and not to existing
ones. In other words all allowances which hitherto taken for
computing pension should continue for pension purposes to those who are covered
under the old pension scheme.
Further, as a matter of policy, RBI had
taken a decision with prior approval of Shri K.C. Chakraborty, the then D.G. (HRDD) that certain
allowances would count for superannuation benefits including pension benefits vide ADMINISTRATION
CIRCULAR No.4 dated September 8, 2010 viz; Stagnation Increments, Grade
Allowance, Special Allowance, Special Pay, Fixed Personal Allowance, CAIIB
Allowance etc. It is pertinent to note that in case of Grade ‘F’ Officers
all these allowances except Grade Pay were already absorbed in basic pay. We
may please add that above stated all
allowances have sanctity of various wage settlements in the Bank in terms
Industrial Dispute Act and so on and they are reckoned as part of pay for
superannuation purposes like pension as per understanding reached with the
Bank.
You may kindly keep in a view that the
NPA which was so far treated non- admissible to GOI medical officers for
computation of pension purposes for earlier retirees has been made admissible
for them. Keeping in view this reality, non-inclusion
of existing allowances for pension in the Bank which form part of pay for
computation of pension is contrary to the Supreme Court judgment in question.
Sir, in view of above, kindly use your
good offices to prevail on MoF not to ignore the said verdict of the Supreme
Court in RBI pensioners matter pending with them. In this regard we are under bona fide impressions that whatever comes
from MoF, if not in consonance with the law of the land, is to be
contested by the Bank to avoid future complications as also to protect the
great image of our RBI.
In view of above, we fervently appeal
to you to look into the matter and kindly deliver long-standing justice to us
as per the said verdict of the SC.
Yours
faithfully,
(L
R Parab)
General
Secretary
Encls.
1. A copy of our letter dt. 11th Nov. 2013
2. A copies of the GOI order dt.
21-10-2014 & News item.
News
Item
In the long and tortuous journey for doctors working under the Central Govt, the Department of Pension and Pensioners’
Welfare (DoPPW) has today finally implemented the decision of the Supreme Court
which had held in November 2013 that the Govt was wrong in its interpretation
of addition of Non-Practicing Allowance (NPA) into total pensionary benefits.
It may be recalled that earlier the Supreme Court had ruled
against the claims of the doctors in BJ Akkara’s case but
later when the Apex Court was informed about the correct position on the
subject and that the Govt had chosen to hide the actual facts from the Supreme
Court as also the very important point that even the Prime Minister had
approved a policy favouring addition of NPA into the pension of pre-96 retiree
doctors, the Court finally ruled in favour of doctors and recorded in its order
the unethical stand of the Govt in this regard before the Supreme Court
in BJ Akkara’s case.
The Govt had filed a review petition before the Supreme Court
which was dismissed in July 2014. Taking a
progressive and balanced view of the matter, the DoPPW has finally
issued orders implementing the
decision of the Supreme Court across the board universally and not just for the
petitioners in the case before the Supreme Court as is usually done by the
Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare in cases of military pensioners.
With this, the Govt would have to release the correct deserved
pension to all Central Govt doctors w.e.f 01-01-1996 with all
consequential benefits by including the element of NPA into the revised scales
for calculating pension.
No.38/31111-P&~W(A)(Vol.IV)
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
Department of Pension and P.W
3rd
Floor, Lok Nayak Bhawan,
Khan Market, New
Delhi.
Dated the 21st October; 2014
OFFICE MEMORANDUM
Subject :- Revision of pension of pre-1996 pensioners
- inclusion of Non-
Practicing Allowance (NP A) for revision of pension of
retired medical
officers w.e.f. 1.1.1996. .
The undersigned is directed to say that in this
Department's OM of even number dated
14thOctober, 2014, it was provided that in the case of
pre-1996 retired medical officers NPA
@ 2S% shall be
added to the minimum of the revised scale of pay as on 1.1.1996
corresponding to the pre-1996 pay scales from which
the pensioner had retired, in cases where
consolidated pension/family pension was to be stepped
up to SO% / 30% respectively of the
minimum of revised pay-scale in terms of OM No.4SIl
0/98-P&PW(A) dated 17.12.1998 read
with OM
No.4S/86/97-P&PW(A) (Pt.) dated 11.S.2001.
2. After Vth CPC, the maximum pension admissible
w.e.f. 1996 was SO% of the highest
pay, i.e. Rs.1S,000/-, applicable in the Central
Government. Accordingly, the maximum
pension admissible in terms of this Department's OM dated 14.10.2014 would also be SO% of
Rs.30,000/-, i.e. Rs.IS,OOO/- w.e.f 1.1.1996. This may
be taken into account while revising
the pension of pre-1996 retired medical officers in
terms of OM of even number dated
14.10.2014.
3. Hindi version will follow.
(Tripti P. Ghosh)
Director
To
(i) All Ministries/Departments of Government of India.
(ii) O/oCAG/CGDA
