The CAT Mumbai has recently held that a set of the retired employees of the Department of Posts was entitled to the said relief. The tribunal exercised jurisdiction and awarded an order that their commuted pensions should be restored after 12 years instead of 15 years in retirement. The same has given boost to pensioners to pray for the same change in the central rules.
The Dispute Over Commuted Pension
The matter arose when these pensioners who used to commute 40% of their pensions upon retirement said that the total amount of the premium had been recovered within the period of 12 years. As per the provision mentioned under Rule 10A of the CCS (Commutation of Pension) Rules, 1981, the full pension can be revived only after 15 years. The applicants stated this rule is not reasonable and sought relief anchored on the recovery timeline.
Tribunal’s Observations
The tribunal observed that where the commuted amount is fully recovered within 12 years, there are no grounds for retaining the lower pensions for an additional three years. This observation negated the respondents’ assertion of the fact that the applicants knew that the built-forms were subject to 15-year restoration period whenever they chose pension commutation.
Recommendations and Comparison
The tribunal noted that the 5th Pay Commission has recommended earlier to lower the commutation period to twelve years. All the IAS officers have attacked these rules of the Central Government saying that the states like Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have already implemented such rules and restored the pensions after 12 and 13 years respectively. This even paved way for pensioners to push for change even harder.
Future Implications
This ruling could apply pressure on other central government employees to call for similar changes. Employee unions and consultative bodies for a long time have been calling for shortening of the pension restoration period. In March 2012, the National Council (Staff Side) of the Joint Consultative Machinery (JCM) submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister seeking the intervention of the government in the matter by providing a 12-year restoration period.
