Monday, July 5, 2010
RIEA MEMORANDUM TO F.M.
5TH July, 2010
Hon’ble Shri Pranab Mukherjee,
Finance Minister,
Union of India,
New Delhi
Hon’ble Sir,
MEMORANDUM
Sub: Revision of pension of employees of Life Insurance Corporation of India.
***
We are grateful to your Honour for sparing some of your valuable time for us. Sir, we are representing the All India Retired Insurance Employees’ Federation, an Association of the Pensioners of L.I.C. of India spread all over the country.
The main subject of our grievance which we wish to submit to your honour is with regard to payment of lesser Dearness Relief on Pensions of those who retired before 1/8/1997 and the Pensioners who retired on and after 1/8/1997 are getting the same rate of DR. While the pensions of all the institutions of the Central and State Governments have been revised time and again but the pensions of the Pensioners of Insurance Industry have remained static with the result they are living a miserable life compared to other pensioners.
We made several representations to the LIC about the anomalies with the result the Board passed a resolution in its meeting on 24/11/2001 but left the same to the approval of the Finance Ministry and although a long period of more than nine years has elapsed the Ministry is sitting tight on our legitimate demands.
Sir, it is pertinent to submit that these pensioners were paid 33% of D.R. while all others are paid 50% of D.R. This was as against the agreed conclusions in between the employees Associations and the Management.
The negative attitude of the Central Govt and LIC compelled the members of this Association o file writ petitions in Rajasthan High Court, Allahabad High Court, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Kerala High Courts. Out of them the writ petitions filed in Rajasthan High Court have been decided.
In S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 6676/1998 the differential treatment with regard to D.R. pensioners who retired prior to 1/8/1997 was challenged and the Hon’ble Rajasthan High Court has directed that there cannot be different rates of Dearness Relief than the rates at which it was payable to in-service employees. This is applicable to those retired after 1/1/1986 to 31/7/1997 since same rate has been applied to those who retired after 1/8/1997. It also means that the DR has to be revised on quarterly basis as is revised in the case of in-service employees.
By another writ petition No. 654/2007 the Petitioners had challenged the action of the Corporation in not revising the pensions as and when pay scales were revised. In this writ petition the Hon’ble 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. The decision of the 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.
On 19th of May, 2010 we had submitted a downloaded copy of the judgment of the Hon’ble High Court dated 12/1/2010 and then the Certified copy of the said judgment were submitted to L.I.C. of India with the hope that the judgment will be honoured.
In this connection it would not be out of place to submit that once the Policy guidelines had been given the Central Govt. is absolved and the Board of LIC, which is an independent statutory body has to manage the affairs but the Officers of the Ministry are bent upon to deny the fruits of the judgment to we the humble pensioners. It is another thing that all others including themselves have derived benefit of exorbitant increase in pay scales and pensions.
Then the Central Government had announced the National Litigation Policy and the Retired Insurance Employees Association had submitted its letter dated 24th June, 2010 quoting the relevant portion of the said Policy. This Policy amongst other things had pronounced that appeals would not be filed in pension and retirement benefit matters. It appears that the pronounced policy of the Central Government is being violated by the Central Government itself.
It is further to make a mention of the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court delivered in Civil Appeal No. 1289 of 2007 – Life Insurance Corporation of India and others vs. Retired L.I.C. Officers and others [(2008) 3 SCC 382] the Hon’ble Supreme Court has held in para 25 that when a benefit is extended to a group of employees the effect of such benefit, if otherwise comes within the purview thereof must be held to be applicable to other groups of employees also. This applies to the present case of the Petitioners and cannot be disobeyed by the Corporation. The Pensioners are also employees of the Corporation and they cannot be denied the benefit of revision of pay scales in the matter of revision of their pensions.
In view of the catena of judgments of the Hon’ble Supreme Court on the subjects involved in the aforesaid writ petition and the provisions of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India, which envisages equal and same treatment to all citizens alike and it was mandatory for the Corporation to have treated the Pensioners and the in-service employees without any discrimination. Now that the Hon’ble Rajasthan High Court has given verdict in this connection it is apt that the management of LIC of India complies with the same and do justice to its Pensioners, most of whom are at the fag end of their life, thereby removing the discrimination amongst the pensioners and pensioners and pensioners and in-service employees, while all of them deserve similar treatment.
Since, inspite of lapse of a long time, justice has not been done to the Pensioners and the judgment of the Hon’ble Rajasthan High Court has not been implemented, we earnestly hope and pray for your kind intervention to remove the discrimination being meted out to the Insurance pensioners and directions issued for implementation of the judgment without any further delay.
Sir, we have faith in your magnanimity and sense of Justice and right and positive thinking and approach.
Thanks and regards
Yours humbly,
Hon’ble Shri Pranab Mukherjee,
Finance Minister,
Union of India,
New Delhi
Hon’ble Sir,
MEMORANDUM
Sub: Revision of pension of employees of Life Insurance Corporation of India.
***
We are grateful to your Honour for sparing some of your valuable time for us. Sir, we are representing the All India Retired Insurance Employees’ Federation, an Association of the Pensioners of L.I.C. of India spread all over the country.
The main subject of our grievance which we wish to submit to your honour is with regard to payment of lesser Dearness Relief on Pensions of those who retired before 1/8/1997 and the Pensioners who retired on and after 1/8/1997 are getting the same rate of DR. While the pensions of all the institutions of the Central and State Governments have been revised time and again but the pensions of the Pensioners of Insurance Industry have remained static with the result they are living a miserable life compared to other pensioners.
We made several representations to the LIC about the anomalies with the result the Board passed a resolution in its meeting on 24/11/2001 but left the same to the approval of the Finance Ministry and although a long period of more than nine years has elapsed the Ministry is sitting tight on our legitimate demands.
Sir, it is pertinent to submit that these pensioners were paid 33% of D.R. while all others are paid 50% of D.R. This was as against the agreed conclusions in between the employees Associations and the Management.
The negative attitude of the Central Govt and LIC compelled the members of this Association o file writ petitions in Rajasthan High Court, Allahabad High Court, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Kerala High Courts. Out of them the writ petitions filed in Rajasthan High Court have been decided.
In S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 6676/1998 the differential treatment with regard to D.R. pensioners who retired prior to 1/8/1997 was challenged and the Hon’ble Rajasthan High Court has directed that there cannot be different rates of Dearness Relief than the rates at which it was payable to in-service employees. This is applicable to those retired after 1/1/1986 to 31/7/1997 since same rate has been applied to those who retired after 1/8/1997. It also means that the DR has to be revised on quarterly basis as is revised in the case of in-service employees.
By another writ petition No. 654/2007 the Petitioners had challenged the action of the Corporation in not revising the pensions as and when pay scales were revised. In this writ petition the Hon’ble 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. The decision of the 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.
On 19th of May, 2010 we had submitted a downloaded copy of the judgment of the Hon’ble High Court dated 12/1/2010 and then the Certified copy of the said judgment were submitted to L.I.C. of India with the hope that the judgment will be honoured.
In this connection it would not be out of place to submit that once the Policy guidelines had been given the Central Govt. is absolved and the Board of LIC, which is an independent statutory body has to manage the affairs but the Officers of the Ministry are bent upon to deny the fruits of the judgment to we the humble pensioners. It is another thing that all others including themselves have derived benefit of exorbitant increase in pay scales and pensions.
Then the Central Government had announced the National Litigation Policy and the Retired Insurance Employees Association had submitted its letter dated 24th June, 2010 quoting the relevant portion of the said Policy. This Policy amongst other things had pronounced that appeals would not be filed in pension and retirement benefit matters. It appears that the pronounced policy of the Central Government is being violated by the Central Government itself.
It is further to make a mention of the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court delivered in Civil Appeal No. 1289 of 2007 – Life Insurance Corporation of India and others vs. Retired L.I.C. Officers and others [(2008) 3 SCC 382] the Hon’ble Supreme Court has held in para 25 that when a benefit is extended to a group of employees the effect of such benefit, if otherwise comes within the purview thereof must be held to be applicable to other groups of employees also. This applies to the present case of the Petitioners and cannot be disobeyed by the Corporation. The Pensioners are also employees of the Corporation and they cannot be denied the benefit of revision of pay scales in the matter of revision of their pensions.
In view of the catena of judgments of the Hon’ble Supreme Court on the subjects involved in the aforesaid writ petition and the provisions of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India, which envisages equal and same treatment to all citizens alike and it was mandatory for the Corporation to have treated the Pensioners and the in-service employees without any discrimination. Now that the Hon’ble Rajasthan High Court has given verdict in this connection it is apt that the management of LIC of India complies with the same and do justice to its Pensioners, most of whom are at the fag end of their life, thereby removing the discrimination amongst the pensioners and pensioners and pensioners and in-service employees, while all of them deserve similar treatment.
Since, inspite of lapse of a long time, justice has not been done to the Pensioners and the judgment of the Hon’ble Rajasthan High Court has not been implemented, we earnestly hope and pray for your kind intervention to remove the discrimination being meted out to the Insurance pensioners and directions issued for implementation of the judgment without any further delay.
Sir, we have faith in your magnanimity and sense of Justice and right and positive thinking and approach.
Thanks and regards
Yours humbly,
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