SACHIDANANDA MOHANTY Vs. REGIONAL PROVIDENT FUND COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner who was working under opposite party No.3, National Textile Corporation Ltd. has filed this writ application for a direction to Provident Fund authorities -opposite parties 1 and 2 to release the pensionary benefits with effect from 2.2.2001 in terms of the Employees Pension Scheme, 1995.

(2.) THE case of the petitioner is that opposite party No.3 is a public undertaking and he was working in the category of a workman under the said organisation. The date of birth of the petitioner is 2.2.1951. Before attaining the age of superannuation, the petitioner took voluntary retirement from the said organization on 29th February, 2000. According to the petitioner in terms of paragraphs -7 and 8 of the Employees Pension Scheme, 1995, he is entitled to get pension on attaining the age of 50. After the petitioner took voluntarily retirement, the opposite party No.3 forwarded the relevant documents requesting for payment of pensionary benefits to the petitioner in terms of the aforesaid scheme. However, the opposite parties 1 and 2 treated the date of birth to be 1.3.1959/16.3.1959 and denied the pensionary benefits to the petitioner under the said scheme.

(3.) THE opposite parties 1 and 2 have filed a counter affidavit alleging therein that in the writ application the petitioner has prayed for change of his date of birth from 16.3.1959 to 2.2.1951 for the purpose of pension under the Employees Pension Scheme, 1995. According to the opposite parties 1 and 2, at the time of entry into the service the petitioner had declared his age to be 24 years as on March, 1983 and his employer had also certified that the date of birth is 16.3.1959 in the prescribed Nomination and Declaration form No.2 which was signed by the petitioner and certified by the employer. The claim for change of date of birth at the fag end of service is not permissible and accordingly, the claim for payment of pension under the Employees Pension Scheme, 1995 was denied. The opposite party No.3 - employer has also filed a counter affidavit stating therein that the petitioner who was working under the establishment took voluntary retirement under Voluntary Retirement Scheme and was relieved from service with effect from 29th February, 2000. After such retirement, the application of the petitioner, affidavit and copy of the scheme certificate were forwarded on the request of the petitioner to the opposite party No.1 on 7/8 January, 2003 for consideration of the claim of the petitioner for pension under the Employees Pension Scheme, 1995.