Q: I was a teacher in a government-aided school and retired from service in 2003. Despite several representations, the school has not released my pension and retirement benefits on the ground that my papers are not in order. Will I be entitled to interest on the amount that’s payable to me?
Name withheld
A: It is trite law that one is entitled to the release of the pension and/or retirement benefits from the date of his or her retirement. It is usually the obligation of the employer to ensure that all formalities required to complete the pension papers are prepared before the date of retirement of the employee. Thus, it is surprising that your employer is purporting to lay the blame on you. The courts take a very serious view of the delay in distribution of pension since it is often the only source of income for the employee after retirement. The Supreme Court of India has repeatedly observed that pension and gratuity are not merely “a bounty” to be disbursed by the government but is a valuable right and property in the hands of the employee and as such “any culpable delay in settlement or distribution thereof is liable to be visited with the penalty of payment with interest at the current market rate till actual payment”. You should immediately make a formal demand for your dues in writing (including the interest amount) and if the school does not respond, then you will have to approach the courts for justice.
Q: I was working for a nationalised bank and was dismissed from permanent employment in March 2006. My repeated pleas to the management over a period of 10 months to consider otherwise did not yield any result and as a last resort, I have filed a petition to that effect, in the Guwahati High Court on January 10, 2007. My petition says, “the undersigned had been the sole bread earner of the family and as such the survival of the whole family is at stake”. Can I move an application to the high court directing the management to release a monthly sustenance allowance (a minimum 60 per cent of the last salary drawn) till the case is decided? I have sufficient amount in my gratuity/pension-linked PF as I have opted for pension and therefore the bank will not be a loser either way if this arrangement is permitted. What are my options?
Arun Kumar Roy
A: Statutory rules provide for payment of an allowance known as subsistence allowance to be paid to an employee who is placed under suspension pending the outcome of disciplinary proceedings against him. The rate or amount of such allowance depends on the particular rules governing the employment. After the order of dismissal, the relationship between the employer and the employee snaps, and as such your employer is not obliged to continue making such payments.
The court may sit in judicial review over the decision of the bank to dismiss you only in limited circumstances, in case there was mala fide exercise of power or there were latches in initiating or conducting the departmental proceedings or if there was any other procedural irregularity or denial of natural justice. Just because you are the sole bread earner of the family doesn’t automatically entitle you to sustenance allowance. However, if you can convince the court prima facie that you have a good case to set aside the order of dismissal, the court may direct your employer to make payments to you as it may deem proper by way of an interim measure.
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