FROM MY ARCHIVES,
R B KISHORE
PANORAMA & PERSPECTIVES OF LEGAL BATTLES OF PENSIONERS
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1) Pension Scheme, agreed to on 14/1/94,was notified only on 28/6/1995.
Basic Pension is Half of Basic Pay. Pensioners are always granted the Same DR as the DA for the Same Basic Pay/Pension of Employees/Retirees.
However, Pension Rules,1995 in Appendix IV,provided for reduction of slabs of DR to Half. Look at DR per slab difference Rs0.93 to 11.50 for pre-8/97, now, after 8/2007 wage revision rising to a whopping Rs 6.37 to Rs 29.25per slab from Asst to ED cadre, resulting in such a serious loss year after year. 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. How can any sane Court accept such a lackadaisical attitude of LIC/UOI of not helping pensioners to lead a NORMAL LIFE after such long decades of dedicated service & in return such continued loss mounting & mounting only. A substaff or driver now gets more pension than a pre-8/1997 ED !
2 ) Basic pension for the wage revisions 8/92-7/97 & 8/97-7/02 stand at : Rs 3210 ----Rs7000 & Rs4498 ----Rs 11,800 respectively & for the wage agreement 8/2002 –7/2007, Rs8845--18050 .& latest wage agreement 8/2007—7/2012, Rs 10525—29925 The V Pay Commission noted that there was growing disparity in pensions in varying degrees drawn by persons retiring from comparable posts over the years. Even Commuted Pension(CP) after 8/2002 is higher than Basic Pension of pre-8/97 pensioners.. After 8/2007 wage ,CP is even equal to ADM’s Total Pension.
This shows such a shabby, miserly pension to the pensioners & it is ridiculous that Basic Pension continues UNCHANGED for 18
long years, when revision of pension takes place automatically to
Govt pensioners, as ordained in IV, V, VI PC pronounciations.
Denial of relief to insurance pensioners etc is clearly arbitrary and discriminatory and violative of Article 14 & 16 of the Constitution
3)Supreme Court 5-Judge Constitution Bench presided by Hon Justice Y.V.Chandrachud, in D.S.Nakara vs Union of India case (AIR1983 SC130),regarded as the MagnaCarta for pensioners, thundered that
a) ‘by introducing an arbitrary eligibility criteria,for being eligible for the liberalised pension scheme & thereby dividing a homogeneous class, --violates Article 14 & is unconstitutional. "Pension is neither a bounty nor a matter of grace depending on the sweet will of the employer. It is not an exgratia payment, but it is a deferred wage for the past services rendered by him------- Pension is their statutory, inalienable & legally enforceable right. It has been earned by the sweat of their brow. As such. it should be fixed, revised, modified & changed in ways ,not entirely dissimilar to the salaries granted to serving employees
4)It is these anamolies & discrepancies & continued mounting of losses to pensioners & as also the sad spectacle of deaths of pensioners, that compelled Sri KML.Asthana,Jaipur,himself a practising lawyer, to approach the Rajasthan HC to redress their grievances.of twin issues of Full DR ,same as was granted for post-8/97 pensioners & employees & pension upgradation after every w age revision.
5) a) S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 654 of 2007 entitled Krishna Murari Lal Asthana and others vs. Life Insurance Corporation of India and others on the subject of revision of pensions, and S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 6676 of 1998 entitled Krishna Murari Lal Asthana vs. Union of India and another on the subject of payment of Dearness Relief to Pensioners have been allowed by Hon Rajasthan High Court by its order dt 12/1/2010 The eminent Judge,Hon Justice M.N.Bhandari ,in his verdict , draws inspiration from a host of cases . The judgement categorically asserts that DR at Full Rate,ie 100%, has to be paid to pre-8/1997 pensioners & that all pensioners have to be paid at SAME RATE, equal to that of Employees & no discrimination should exist
b)The Hon’ble Rajasthan High Court has held that on the basis of date of retirement, there cannot be any discrimination between the Pensioners interse. All pensioners are entitled to revision of pensions as and when pay scales are revised. By not giving revision in pension, it will be violative of Article 14 & 16 of Constitution . He draws from Nakara judgement important provisos of EXISTING & NEW & upholds that any changes or improvements must be deemed as coming under Existing category & hence made applicable to pensioners too.The decision of the LIC Board taken in its meeting dated 24/11/2001 but not implemented on account of misnomer of approval of the Central Government has been directed to be implemented with the above modifications. It is,therefore, rightly regarded that the Jaipur judgement is historic & marked a Milestone & a fresh breather for entire pensioners’ fraternity.
6)a) Aggrieved by this Single Judge verdict, LIC went in for Appeals DB Civil Special Appeal (W) No. 493/2010 vide their order dated 21.01.2011.& after due hearing , the 2-Judge Division Bench observed , ‘We are of the view that whatever grievance with regard to the implementation of the Board's resolution dated 24.11.2001 is concerned, the same can be raised by the Union of India, who has chosen not to file any appeal in the matter and this can easily be considered as an approval of the said Resolution of the Board dated 24.11.2001 which was allegedly pending for nine years. The Board of LIC, who is the appellant before us against the judgment of the learned Single Judge, had itself taken a decision to remove the disparities and the discrimination with regard to the payment of Dearness Allowance and pension to the retired employees under its resolution of the Board dt. 24.11.2001, which was in public interest. It could not and should not have filed the present appeal against the judgment of the learned Single Judge as the learned Single Judge has provided an umbrella to the appellant for the implementation of the decision of the Board dt. 24.11.2001 on the categorical statement made by the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Union of India and not assailed in appeal by the Union of India.
In the light of the submissions made by the learned Counsel for the Union of India before the learned Single Judge, we find that these appeals filed by the L.I.C. of India have no merit and the same stand dismissed. Sd. Sd. (MAHESH BHAGWATI)J. (DALIP SIGH)J. dt21/1/2011
b)The Division Bench took a serious note of the conduct of LIC in not adhering to its Board Resolution on one or the other account. Justice Dalip Singh observed, "The LIC is making an eyewash by not falling in line with its own Board decision and it is an extreme ridiculous situation that the Corporation itself has filed an appeal now saying that the order of the single judge is not tenable whereas the LIC still maintains that the Board resolution has not been rescinded and the Corporation is not challenging its own Board's Resolution."
"LIC is making a sheer misuse of the judicial system by filing frivolous appeal and trying to dislodge the retired pensioners from their valid right merely on the ground that the resolution was never approved by the Ministry of Finance. Such a ground is not maintainable when the Government of India has never filed an appeal against the order of Single Judge as also the LIC is an autonomous statutory body which need not depend on the government for its day-to-day functioning. Hence the appeal is not maintainable," observed Justice Mahesh Bhagwati
The Court directed LIC to start paying the revised and equal pensions and DA to all superannuated employee & to revise the pension and dearness allowance ( DA) payable to its retired employees corresponding to the successive revisions of the pay scales that took place in 1993, 1997, 2002 and 2007 respectively.
7) LIC filed Review Petitions in Rajasthan & also SLP 16117 & 16118/2011 in SC . SC BENCH HON.JUSTICE G.S.SINGHVI & HON JUSTICE H.L.DATTU disposed of on 15/7/2011 WITH AN ORDER TO GET FINAL VERDICT ON LIC RP PENDING AT JAIPUR HC NOT LATER THAN 90 DAYS, AS AGAINST 2 YRS SOUGHT BY LIC COUNSEL
8) NOW LIC WRIT REVIEW 86 & 87/2011 IS DISMISSED ON 19/8/2011 BY DB JAIPUR HC
9) a)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."
b)These sentences in italics is what pensioners in insurance industry are fighting for to plead to remove utter arbitrariness in Institutional & State (UOI ) action .Arguments advanced are a cloak to deny genuine & legitimate demands of aged elder pensioners, majority above 70 yrs, kept pending & in cold storage for 10 years & more. LIC /UOI are flouting the constitutional Fundamental Rights of citizens as enshrined in the Constitution. Thousands of pensioners have died & are dying. The tribe of Family pensioners has increased by leaps & bounds ! There should not be any highs or lows in respect of same situation in an island of democracy. LIC counsel had affirmed in the Jaipur HC that they are prepared to accept pension revision but need UOI instructions.
10) a)Board Resolution cannot be treated as a scrap of paper, it is a sacred Document containing solutions & seed for solution of pensioners problems & the demands are real & modest,genuine& legitimate. Supreme Court ,in its judgement opined “Therefore, the law on the question can be summarized to the effect that no higher authority in the hierarchy or an appellate or revisional authority can exercise the powers of the statutory authority not the superior authority can mortgage its wisdom and direct the statutory authority to act in a particular manner . If the appellate or revisional authority takes upon itself the task of the statutory authority and passes an order, it remain unenforceable for the reason that it cannot be termed to be in order passed under the Act”
b)It is , therefore abundantly clear from the above, that when once after all due considerations & circumstances etc, the Pension Rules, 1995,as a Complete Code by itself, was promulgated by LIC with Govt Notification, all pros & cons are cleared & the course of Pension Rules, 1995 must run without any interference by Higher Authority or UOI. Here LIC is the statutory authority & UOI is the Revisional authority.Therefore the Corporation is bound to implement the decision it has taken in its meeting held on 24.11.2001 as per DB Jaipur HC orders dt 21/1/2011
11)It will be gratifying to note that hectic efforts & strategies were employed to meet all top executives of LIC, MOF officials right upto Secretary for many years, submit various Notes & Charts for all cadres clearly pointing out such gross differences.Finally all independent Board Directors we met ,submitted memorandum & clarified the issues .The 110 minute closed door meeting with Sri GNBajpai with the AIRIEF team led by Sri Sunil Shastri, S/Sri HCMehta, CSMurty, RBKishore,JKKarulkar with in-depth analysis led after few months in that Board Resolution dt 24/11/2001 to allow Full DR to pre-8/97 pensioners & same weightage in pension as will be granted in wage agreements.
12) We solicited Hon Justice(Retd) V.R.Krishna Iyer opinion. In his letter dt 17,July,2010 to Finance Minister,the reputed legal luminary & beacon light of legal jurisprudence gave his irrefutable & undeniable, independent opinion, affirming ‘'the pathetic condition of a class of people arbitrarily alienated from the beneficial stream of pensioners ,what is arbitrary is unconstitutional & added 'LIC pensioners are one integral group & cannot be divided into different classes. Date is an irrelevant factor when alteration in pension is made” “ In the light of my submissions above, & out of consideration for humanism, justice,& constitution fairness, kindly accord concurrence to the Court Order . Statesmanlike action without delay will be a boon to the forsaken pensioners .”
13)Reg 56 of LIC Pension Rules provides that “Matters relating pension & other benefits in respect of which no express provision has been made in these rules shall be governed by the corresponding provisions contained in the CCS(Pension)Rule 1972, or the CCS(Commutation of pension ) Rules,1991 applicable for CG Employees “ This submission has been upheld by Rajasthan HC reported WLC1999(2) wlc 232 that if the Scheme is silent on the point, the Central Services Pension Rules ,1972 will apply.This finding has been upheld even by Hon Supreme Court .Simply put, there cannot be a 1st class treatment for some & a 3rd class treatment for others similarly circumstanced . Govt pensioners live in India & insurance pensioners also live in India. Factors affecting daily life & living are the same & so solutions also should be in similar directions .In fact, it applies with greater force for insurance pensioners as insurance RegularPension is far less than Govt RP & WHY, EVEN Govt Family Pension is higher than insurance RP itself ! ! Maximum pension in CGovt is a whopping Rs52,200 plus DR as against V PC maximum Rs33,075..FP as 30% of Basic Pay will shoot up to Rs21,000 plus DR.
14)OER came down from 19.9% to17.7% in 2001-02, 15.4% in 2005-06,& 12.7%in 2006-07, 12.2% in 2008-09 & 13.1% in 2009-10 & will be among the best as per International standards, as claimed by MD.
From 1996-1997 to 2009-10, in 14 years only, LIC has contributed a whopping Rs 7873cr to Govt, a Kamadhenu indeed. Staggering Total Income,Booming,Solid Life Fund, a Maharathna in reality, a True National Gigantic Institution in every sense of the term, a ‘jewel in the crown, a world-class institution ’,unalloyed praise from FM & PM. What more testimonials needed ! . LIC is always an Open Book of unqualified adulation & accolades & awards galore. There are HC & SC judgements emphasizing that ‘ this dichotomy or discrimination neither appeals to reason nor can the State be permitted to take shelter of financial constraint etc '
15)Further,after pension upgradation is granted after wage revision,subsequent fitments to the next group,after wage revision, will consume a moderate outlay only. i)Deaths of employees during service & so FP only ii)Deaths of pensioners, iii)pensioners not alive to secure Commuted Pension 15 yrs after retirement,a savings for LIC, iv)See the rising numbers of Family Pensioners, v)so parity also tapers off, vi)NPS wef 1/4/2010 makes this pensioners cadre slowly a closed one. It is to be noted that as at 1/1/2011, since as per Cost of Living Index ,% DA has crossed 50 %, as per convention & PC findings, All India Govt Pensioners Fedn has already put up its demand for merger of DA/DR with Basic Pay/Pension. We know CG DR is at 80% now !!
16)What AIRIEF(All India Retired Insurance Employees’Federation) is asking for is not even the tail of the Wage agreement PLLI or the tail of the Meal Coupon gift on September Anniversary 2010. Last 2 years as PLLI norms were not achieved, yet LIC Chairman prevailed on Board to grant 1% PLLI.There should not be a miserly, lackadaisical treatment meted out to diminishing tribe of pensioners ,who brought name,fame & reputation to the Institution. Similar such outlay can well go to grant pension upgradation & to augment pensioners welfare
17) Most important, GOVT Pension Regulations do not provide for revision of pension. Central Civil Services(Pension )Rules, 1972 are statutory in character . But, Govt has repeatedly gone ahead with pension revision & with it Railways only thro Administrative orders,without any amendment in its own Pension Regulations. That did not preclude the Govt from giving effect to V CPC & again VI CPC recommendations. VI Pay Commission also added value rightly, increased % of pension at ages 80,85,90,95 & 100 years to the tune of 30,40,50,60 & 100% ,which we don't secure & that demonstrated empathy towards Elders. Older Govt pensioners have,therefore, an added reason to rejoice. No different yardstick should be there as dispensers of justice. Policymakers & Courts have to see Social security reality, growing needs of Elders & Sr Citizens in a Welfare State & uphold beneficial regime without an iota of reluctance & enhance value& worth for those who gave sweat & toil for the rapid progress of the institution
18)National Litigation Policy is now 15 months old. Govt should not be a compulsive litigant & especially in Sr Citizens cases, pension/retirement benefits no Appeals be made as a conscientitious policy to be made a reality. This is a a beacon-light indeed. Further, as SC asserted, “ In our opinion when an authority takes a decision which may have civil consequences and affects the rights of a person, the principle of natural justice would at once come into play. Natural justice is another name for commonsense justice. Rules of natural justice are not codified canons. But they are principles ingrained into the conscience of man. Natural justice is the administration of justice in a commonsense liberal way. Justice is based substantially on natural ideas and human values.’ (Dev—Vs UOI & Ors Civil Appeal No7631/2002)
19)We have been pleading LIC/UOI to help pre-1986 exgratia retirees umpteen times emphasizing that they are all more than 83 yrs old, the numbers have dwindled from 5500 to less than 2000 & to grant monthly Medical Assistance on same lines as that of RBI,as they are getting a pittance of Rs300 plus DR..RBI again increased wef 1/4/08 MedicalAssistance(MA) ranging from Rs3400-5600pm for Class IV –Grade F/ED. How frequently RBI has done the revision speaks high of RBIs concern for all types of pensioners & exgratia retirees.
20) Let good news come to enliven & enrich the pensioners, who are so far a harassed, beleagured lot. Pray all of us to live to that day to see& experience a more holistic life & living by these veteran elders who were the warp & woof of LIC & made this institution a wondrous one. Why not they enjoy a lustre in the fading twilight years of their lives , 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. ARTICLE by R.B.KISHORE, ED(Retd),LIC & VP,AIRIEF
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