RAJ KUMAR GAUTAM Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ONE of the Directive Principles of the State Policy which Part IV of the Constitution of India provides for in the form of Article 41 is that the State shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective provisions for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, and in other cases of undeserved want. Similarly Article 45 requires the State to endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years. As a step in aid of the above constitutional goals, objectives and aspirations the Government of Punjab have in terms of a notification dated March 16, 2005 formulated what are known as the "Punjab Social Security Fund Regulations, 2005". Regulations 3 of the said Regulation requires the State Government to constitute a fund to be known as the Social Security Fund, vested in the State Government. Regulation 7 enumerates the objects for which the fund can be utilized, while Regulation No. 8 entrusts the maintenance and operation of the fund to the care of department of Social Security,Women and Children Development and the Department of Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes through their respective Directorates. Regulations 3, 4, 7 and 9 of the above Regulation may at this stage be extracted for ready reference.

(2.) WHAT is noteworthy is that the fund comprises contributions in the form of enhanced Electricity Duty and enhanced Stamp Duty levied on the sale of immovable property falling within the jurisdiction of the State Municipalities and the Corporations. While the duty on the former has been enhanced from 5% to 10% the latter has been raised from 6% to 9% to ensure that the objective for which the fund is created are achieved and the states liability under the regulations discharged on a regular and continuous basis. Significantly, the fund is also meant to be used for the laudable object of promotion of education among educationally backward classes; scholarship for post-matric students for Scheduled Castes; and attendance scholarship to admissible Scheduled Caste Primary Girls Students.

(3.) IN the reply affidavit filed on behalf of the respondent-state, the material facts have not been disputed. It is not disputed that although the pension scheme formulated by the government is in force yet the benefit of the same does not reach the beneficiaries on a regular basis. Such payments upto December 2008 were made, according to Mr. Khosla, only some time in March, 2009. Mr. Khosla further states on instructions that payment up to the end of March, 2009 have also been made to the eligible beneficiaries which implies that payments for the past three months have not been released so far. The delay in the making of the payment is according to the learned counsel, on account of a time lag between collection from the contributing source and disbursement of the amount to the beneficiaries. Mr. Khosla urged that while the state would endeavour to release the payment under the scheme to the beneficiaries on a regular basis in the first week of every calendar month, it would require reasonable time to streamline the implementation of the scheme to ensure timely payment of the amount to the beneficiaries.