CHANDRO DEVI Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present writ petition has been filed under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India for the issuance of a writ in the nature of Mandamus directing the respondent-department to accept the petitioner's option for pension and grant her monthly pension under the Punjab Municipal Employees Pension and General Provident Fund Rules, 1994 along with all consequential benefits.

(2.) Briefly stated, petitioner, Smt. Chandro Devi, was appointed on a regular basis as a Class-IV Safai Sewak (Sweeper) with the Respondent- Department on 6/10/1980. After rendering 43 years, 5 months, and 26 days of continuous, satisfactory, and unblemished service, she superannuated from service on 31/3/2024. The State of Punjab, in a welfare-oriented move, implemented the Punjab Municipal Employees Pension and General Provident Fund Rules, 1994 (hereinafter referred to as 'the 1994 Rules') with effect from 1/4/1990 (Annexure P-1).

(3.) Rule 3 of the 1994 Rules stipulated that employees who were in service as on 1/4/1990 were to be given a four-month window to exercise their option to join the pension scheme. Employees appointed after 1/4/1990 were to be automatically covered under the pension scheme. The petitioner, being an illiterate and uneducated Class-IV employee, was never made aware of this critical option or its lifelong financial implications.