GURMIT SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CM-3909-CWP-2017 in/and CWP-9351-2012

(2.) This order will dispose of all the abovenoted six writ petitions, filed by the retired employees/legal heirs of the retired employees and association of the retired employees of Punjab State Warehousing Corporation (in short 'PSWC'), challenging certain impugned orders passed on 23.9.2011 (Annexure-P-11) and 9.12011 (Annexure-P-21), vide which the payment of pensionary benefits to the retired employees was put on hold. For brevity, the facts are taken from CWP-9351-201 It comes out that the PSWC was having 1900 employees. After 1992, due to ban on the fresh recruitment, the number of employees dwindled to 1200. As a result of the same, the inflow of fund in the pension fund also dwindle. It is to be noticed that a Pension Scheme notification dated 20.3.1996 (Annexure-P-2) was implemented by the PSWC to extend the facility of pension, gratuity, LTC, medical facilities etc. and those employees, who opted the said scheme, will be entitled to the benefit of said scheme. It was laid down in the said scheme that all the liabilities of pension account of employees shall be met from pension fund only and not from the revenue and any other source of the PSWC. The difficulty arose when the number of employees dwindled and the inflow to the pension fund also dwindled. The PSWC started facing difficulty in paying the pension to its retired employees with the result that it passed the abovenoted impugned order, putting the pension on hold. Needless to say that the pension is a statutory right of a retired employee and it could not be put on hold, as was done by the PSWC in the present cases.

(3.) Now, the question would arise as to how to meet the liability of pension of its retired employees ? It also comes out that more employees will be retiring till year 2028. As a result of the revocation of the said scheme, the other employees will now be covered by the CPF scheme, so that, after the year 2028, no employee, who is entitled to pension, will be retiring. It also comes out that the PSWC is carrying out three activities, which are as under :-