Scientist challenges PRL over reduced pay scale,pension

The petitioner has been identified as Dr Sheela Kusumgar. She has made the PRL and the head of the General Administration Department respondents in the petition. According to the details of the case,Kusumgar was inducted in PRL as a Research Associate and subsequently promoted. She retired from the post of scientist in March 1999. Along with her promotions,Kusumgar’s pay scales were also revised at regular intervals.

But,in 2001,the PRL served her with a letter to refund Rs 32,021,which it said was paid to her as excess payment owing to a wrong fixation of the pay scale arising out of an oversight.

Kusumgar said that following the letter,the amount of her pension was also reduced as per the reduced scale and she was served with some other letters to recover the excess payment.

Contesting the decision of the PRL authorities to reduce her pension and the demand to recover the alleged excess payment against the canons of natural justice,Kusumgar challenged the decision before the High Court.

The HC asked to transfer the petition to the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT),which had dismissed Kusumgar’s petition. Following this,she challenged the CAT order in the HC through her lawyer Shalin Mehta. On Thursday,the bench heard the matter and issued notices to the two respondents.