Court Rules Against Rekha Singh's Claim for Pension Due to Lack of Legal Entitlement
In a significant judgment, the Allahabad High Court has dismissed the plea of Rekha Singh, a former Assistant Director/Director at the Institute of Correspondence Courses and Continuing Education (ICC&CE), University of Allahabad, seeking post-retirement benefits such as pension and gratuity. The court held that Singh was unable to establish her entitlement to such benefits under any specific rule or statute.
Presided over by Justice Saurabh Shyam Shamshery, the court emphasized that post-retirement benefits cannot be granted without a supporting legal framework. The court noted that while the petitioner had served at the institute, which is an integral part of the University, this affiliation alone does not confer an automatic right to post-retirement benefits without the backing of specific service rules.
Rekha Singh had previously approached the court for payment of her salary arrears from November 2014 until her retirement in 2017. Although the court had ruled in her favor for the salary arrears, her subsequent claim for post-retirement benefits was rejected by the university, prompting her to file this writ petition.
The court further observed that the ICC&CE operates under a self-financing model, and the payment of salaries and other emoluments is dependent on the institute’s income from student fees. The institute's temporary nature and lack of provision for post-retirement benefits in its ordinances were crucial factors in the court's decision.
Additionally, the court addressed the issue of negative parity, stating that benefits granted mistakenly to other employees cannot be used to claim parity. The principle of negative equality does not support perpetuating illegality or fraud, as highlighted by previous Supreme Court judgments.
The petitioner’s argument that some employees of the institute had received post-retirement benefits was also dismissed by the court, reinforcing the need for a legal basis to support such claims.
In conclusion, the court ruled that without any statutory provision entitling her to post-retirement benefits, Rekha Singh's claim could not be sustained. The writ petition was thereby dismissed.
Bottom Line:
Post retiral benefits cannot be granted without a supporting rule or statute. Negative parity cannot be claimed for benefits provided inadvertently or mistakenly to others.
Statutory provision(s): Article 14 of the Constitution of India, Article 23 of the Constitution of India, Section 5(d) of University of Allahabad Act, 2005, Section 30(2) of the Act, 2005, Ordinance XXXII of the University Ordinances.
Rekha Singh v. Union of India, (Allahabad) : Law Finder Doc id # 2859581
