KERALA STATE ELECTRICITY BOARD, Vs. S.KRISHNAMBAL,

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE only issue in the above appeal is the refund of the interim relief to pensioners/family pensioners granted to the retired employees of the Board. The petitioners are all employees of the Board who retired after 1.7.1998. They were granted interim relief by Exhibit R1(b) dated 15.11.1999, which made the same applicable from 1.7.1998. It was clarified that the interim relief will not carry dearness relief and the payment would be reckoned against the revision of pension as and when ordered by the Board. Subsequently, the revision of pay to Government employees was ordered by the State Government and consequently revision of pension too was ordered. These were adopted by the Board and Exhibit P2 order was issued regarding revision of pensionary benefits, in which it was specified that the two instalments of interim relief sanctioned to the pensioners/family pensioners would stand withdrawn from 1.7.1998 and the total of the same would be adjusted in lump from the arrears of pension payable for that period.

(2.) SINCE the pension of the petitioners were fixed at the pre-revised scale, notional enhancement as applicable to serving employees as on 1.1.1996 was ordered and the drop in existing pension was directed to be protected as personal allowance, which was also directed not to be absorbed in the future increase in dearness relief.

(3.) HOWEVER , the petitioners were persons who were not entitled to any arrears with respect to pension and the Board attempted to recover the same from the arrears of Death-cum-Retirement Gratuity (for short "DCRG") payable to the petitioners. The Board supported the said action on the ground that the entitlement of the Board to refund the interim Rrelief from pension includes entitlement to recover it from any retirement benefit available to an employee, including DCRG. The learned Single Judge found that monthly pension/family pension, DCRG, Dearness Relief, Medical Allowances, etc. are all separately dealt with in Exhibit P2 and cannot be taken to be one and the same. The interim relief was also specifically directed to be adjusted in lump from the arrears of pension payable for that period. The payment of the arrears of pension and DCRG being covered by different period of instalments, it was held that one cannot be said to be part of the other.