The Punjab and Haryana high court has summoned the Punjab chief secretary over a 25-year delay in deciding retirees’ pensionary benefits.
The bench of justice Sandeep Moudgil was hearing a clutch of petitions by around 50 petitioners demanding recomputation and enhancement of the commuted value of their pensions.
The petitions were filed in 2001 by the employees of different departments. The petitions are now being taken up as part of a special exercise to dispose of long-pending cases. Since 2001, the government has even failed to file its response.
In July, the court imposed a cost of ₹1 lakh, to be recovered from the personal salaries of some officials of the public health department. However, on August 28, although it was shown that fine as been recovered but government failed to explain source of the fine deposited by the government. In another related matter, the court also imposed a fine of ₹50,000 on two senior health and family welfare department officials. The chief secretary was also told to specifically identify the officials from whose salary the amount had been deducted.
However, on the next date of hearing on September 30, the court found that “the affidavit (from the chief secretary) does not clarify or establish that the said amount was, in fact, recovered from the salaries of the concerned officials.”
{{/usCountry}}However, on the next date of hearing on September 30, the court found that “the affidavit (from the chief secretary) does not clarify or establish that the said amount was, in fact, recovered from the salaries of the concerned officials.”
{{/usCountry}}The court also came across other petitions, in which responses had not been filed. It imposed another fine of ₹2 lakh on some senior officials and issued a show-cause notice to the chief secretary, asking why proceedings under the Contempt of Courts Act should not be initiated against him.
On October 12, the chief secretary was summoned for the next day’s hearing. Meanwhile, the government challenged the ₹2 lakh fine order before the division bench and procured a stay order.
The court observed that there is no stay to the show-cause notice for contempt proceedings and the chief secretary’s reply is still awaited. Also, the chief secretary did not appear on October 12 even as there was no stay order with regard to his summoning.
The court observed that the division bench that passed the stay order has not been informed “in right earnest and with fairness.”
“...it was the 4th opportunity for the State of Punjab to file the written statement in a case which is pending for 25 years,” it said, adding that the court was compelled to impose the ₹2 lakh fine only after the state failed to respond promptly.
It recorded that “the five contentions” raised before the division bench are “absolutely incorrect and against the judicial record”. “The cost of ₹2 lakh is projected to have been imposed by this court merely for failure with regard to the deposit of cost of ₹1 lakh, which is also misplaced …and factually incorrect. …it was imposed due to failure of respondents in filing their replies, despite lapse of 25 years,” the court said.
It directed the registrar (judicial) to place a copy of all the orders passed by the bench since July to October 13, along with the last order passed by the division bench, for its consideration and also summoned the chief secretary to appear on October 28.