M.P . WAREHOUSING CORPORATION SEW ANIVRAT AVAM PENSIONDHARI Vs. M.P. STATE WAREHOUSING AND LOGISTC CORPORATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this writ petition, the petitioners, inter alia, seek a direction to the respondent No. 1 to release the remaining 32% of the amount towards 10% of the employer's share of the petitioners and all its retired members alongwith interest at the rate of 12%. In order to appreciate the petitioners' grievance few facts need mention, which are stated infra. The petitioner No. 1 is an association of retired and working employees of the M.P. State Ware Housing & Logistic Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the ''respondent No. 1") which is duly registered under the provisions of M.P. Societies Registrikaran Adhiniyam, 1973. In. the year 1996-97, a pension scheme was floated by the respondent No. 1 in collaboration with the Life Insurance Corporation of India (hereinafter referred to as "respondent No. 2") under which 10% employer's share which was being deposited under the provisions of the scheme, namely, Contributory Fund Scheme, was transferred to the respondent No. 1 and thereafter the respondent No. 1 started depositing its 10% employer's share in the form of premium to respondent No. 2 per month. Under the said Scheme, the premium of 10% employer's share was to be deposited by respondent No. 1 till the date of retirement of particular employee and thereafter on the basis of aforesaid corpus amount of particular employee, the respondent No. 2 was obliged to pay the pensionary benefits to the concerned employee calculating the retiral benefits at the rate of 45%.

(2.) Nearly, 1499 employees of the respondent No. 1 including the petitioner and its members submitted their option for the aforesaid pension scheme in lieu of their 10% employer's share. As per the Agreement arrived at between the respondents a Trust was created and a Trust Deed was executed on 20.2.1977 pursuant to which a Master Policy dated 15.3.2007 containing the provisions regarding payment of pension to the employees was issued. The aforesaid pension policy continued uninterrupted till 1999-2000 and nearly 131 retired employees were getting the benefit of the scheme of pension. However, thereafter a dispute arose in respect of payment of premium as the rate of interest fell down as well as in view of the fact that aforesaid 131 employees received retrial benefits at the rate of 45% in lieu of their employer's share towards premium at the rate of 10% only. The respondent No. 2 thereupon insisted the respondent No. 1 to pay premium at the rate of more than 10% of the employer's share arid for execution of Variation Deed for changing the pension Scheme to Defined Benefit instead of Defined Contribution Scheme. A Variation Deed was executed between the respondents on 18.7.2000.

(3.) Being aggrieved by the stoppage of pension under the aforesaid scheme, 131 retired employees filed writ petitions before the High Court in which pension and other benefits were claimed. The writ petitions were decided by a Bench of this Court by common order dated 08.4.2004 commanding the respondents to continue with the pension policy and the respondent No. 1 was directed to pay amount of Rs. 3.38 crores to respondent No. 2 for making over all deficit occurred in the corpus fund. Being aggrieved by the aforesaid order the respondent No. 1 preferred a writ appeal before the Division Bench of High Court in which a challenge was made to the direction issued by the learned Single Judge with regard to grant of payment of Rs. 3.38 crores to respondent No. 1. The respondent No. 1 also sought direction that deficit should be made good by respondent No. 2 by recovering excess payment made to 131 employees. During the pendency of the writ appeals, the respondents entered into an agreement on 15.10.2007 under which respondent No. 1 agreed to surrender the Master Policy containing the pensionary claims and respondent No. 2 agreed to pay the pension to 131 employees, who were already getting pension and to return the remaining amount towards corpus containing 10% employer's share to respondent No. 1 with interest after retaining the requisite amount for payment of pension to aforesaid 131 employees.