MINAXIBEN HARSUKHLAL DAVE Vs. CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition by the widow of a clerk of the respondent-Bank seeks to retrospectively obtain the benefits of family pension by converting from the provident fund scheme to the family pension scheme. For the sake of convenience, the deceased husband of the petitioner shall, hereinafter, be called "the petitioner".

(2.) The short and saddening facts of the case are that the petitioner, after serving the respondent-Bank for 27 years, suffered from parkinsons disease and had to voluntarily retire with the prospect of his dependent son being appointed on compassionate ground. He sought premature retirement, but was advised by the Bank to submit his resignation and, accordingly, he submitted the resignation on medical grounds so as to take its effect from the date of appointment of his son. He appears to have retired by such resignation with effect from 12.8.1988 before reaching the age of superannuation and his lamp of life was extinguished on 18.10.1988. The widow requested the Bank that as his resignation was, in effect, voluntary retirement, she was eligible for family pension scheme which was subsequently introduced with retrospective effect.

(3.) The petition was resisted on the ground of delay insofar as the orders dated 7.12.1996 and 8.8.1998 were sought to be challenged by this petition filed in June, 2001. On merits, it was contended that the State Bank of Saurashtra (Employees) Pension Regulations-1995, on which the claim of the petitioner is based, did not apply to the facts of the petitioner's case. According to the relevant part of the relevant Regulation 3 (7), the regulation shall apply, inter alia, to the employees who had retired on or before the 31st day of October, 1993 but died before the notified date, in which case, their family shall be entitled to pension or family pension, as the case may be, if the family of the deceased exercises an option in writing within 120 days from the notified date to become a member of the fund and refunds within 60 days of the expiry of the said period, the entire amount of the Bank's contribution to the provident fund and interest accrued thereon together with a further simple interest @ 6% per annum from the date of settlement of the provident fund account till the date of refund of the aforesaid amount to the Bank. The notified date is 23.3.1996. By virtue of the Regulation 22 (1), the events of disqualification are prescribed as under: