- (1.) INSTANT petition has been filed by an officer of Middle Management Grade Scale -III who stood retired on 31.01.2010 with the grievance that the procedure adopted by the respondent bank in releasing commutation of pension to a retired person is discriminatory and arbitrary and he too needs indulgence of this Court for maintaining parity amongst the retired officers to whom commutation has been permitted by the bank who too are facing departmental/judicial enquiry, in clear ignorance of Reg. 47 of the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (Employees') Pension Regulations, 1995 (Regulations, 1995).
(2.) AT the first instance it will be appropriate to quote Reg. 46 & 47 of the Regulations, 1995 which is relevant for the present purpose reads ad infra: - 46. Provisional Pension - (i) An employee who has retired on attaining the age of superannuation or otherwise and against whom any departmental or judicial proceedings are instituted or where departmental proceedings are continued, a provisional pension, equal to the maximum pension which would have been admissible to him would be allowed subject to adjustment against final retirement benefits sanctioned to him, upon conclusion of the proceedings but no recovery shall be made where the pension finally sanctioned is less than the provisional pension or the pension is reduced or withheld etc., either permanently or for a specified period. (2) In such cases the gratuity shall not be paid to such an employee until the conclusion of the proceedings against him. The gratuity shall be paid to him on conclusion of the proceedings subject to the decision of the proceedings. Any recoveries to be made from an employee shall be adjusted against the amount of gratuity payable. Explanation - -In this chapter - (a) the expression 'serious crime' includes a crime involving an offence under the Official Secrets Act, 1923 (19 of 1923); (b) the expression "grave misconduct" includes the communication or disclosure of any secret official code or password or any sketch, plan, model, article, note, document or information, such as is mentioned in section 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 (19 of 1923) which was obtained while holding office in the Bank so as to prejudicially affect the interests of the general public or the security of the State. (c) the expression "fraudulently" shall have the meaning assigned to it under section 25 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (45 of 1860); (d) the expression "Criminal breach of trust" shall have the meaning assigned to it under section 405 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (45 of 1860); (e) the expression "forgery" shall have the meaning assigned to it under section 463 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (45 of 1860). 47. Commutation of pension during departmental or judicial proceedings - -An employee against whom departmental or judicial proceedings have been instituted before the date of his retirement or a person against whom such proceedings are instituted after the date of his retirement shall not be eligible to commute a fraction of his provisional pension, or pension, as the case may be authorised under these regulations during the pendency of such proceedings. Reg. 46 clearly envisages that a retiree facing judicial/departmental enquiry is eligible for provisional pension and Reg. 47 provides that the retiree is not eligible for commutation of fraction of provisional pension or pension during departmental/judicial proceedings. It has been averred in the writ petition that withholding to commute fraction of provisional pension or pension as provided under Reg. 47 is arbitrary and no purpose is going to be served in withholding commutation more so when full pension as provisional pension is being paid/released to the retiree who is facing departmental/judicial enquiry.
(3.) THE petitioner further submits that despite specific Reg. 47 under the scheme of Regulations, 1995 commutation has been permitted to such of the retirees who are facing either departmental/judicial enquiry and were pending on the date of commutation being released and according to him it is still pending before the appropriate competent authority.;