Retiral Dues Cannot Be Withheld Without Charge Sheet or Judicial Proceedings; Pension a Valuable Right of Employees, Court Observes
Srinagar, June 17 : The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has ruled that the mere pendency of an FIR investigation, without the filing of a charge sheet before a competent court, cannot be treated as a valid ground for withholding pension and other retiral benefits of a retired employee.
According to KNC, Justice Sanjay Dhar, while hearing the matter, observed that under Article 168-A of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Service Regulations (CSR), recovery from pensionary or retiral benefits can only be effected when departmental or judicial proceedings establish that the employee caused financial loss to the employer through negligence, misconduct, fraud, or other wrongful acts during service.
The Court underscored that although an employer possesses the authority to recover losses from pensionary benefits, such powers are subject to strict legal safeguards and statutory conditions. Any alleged loss must first be determined and established through competent departmental or judicial proceedings.
“Mere pendency of the investigation, without there being a charge sheet laid before the court, cannot be termed as a judicial proceeding,” Justice Dhar observed.
The Court further noted that in the present case, the respondents had neither quantified any financial loss allegedly caused to the Corporation nor asserted that the retired employee had derived any monetary benefit from the alleged acts attributed to him during his service tenure.
Justice Dhar observed that no judicial proceedings involving assessment of losses were pending against the petitioner and, therefore, withholding his pensionary and terminal benefits was not legally sustainable.
Reiterating the legal position, the High Court held that pension and other retiral benefits constitute valuable rights of retired employees and cannot be withheld solely on the basis of an ongoing investigation unless the conditions prescribed under Article 168-A of the J&K CSR are fully satisfied.
The judgment is expected to provide significant relief to retired government and public sector employees facing delays in the release of pensionary benefits due to pending investigations in which no charge sheet has been filed before a court of law. (KNC)
