Telangana HC orders release of former railway employee’s pension, says can’t withhold it over ‘mere pendency of plea’
The appellant was convicted in a criminal case in 2010 before being dismissed from service. However, a Telangana court acquitted him, and he was reinstated in service in 2023.
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The appellant had faced both departmental and criminal proceedings, and was convicted in a criminal case in February 2010 before being dismissed from service in June 2010. (Source: tshc.gov.in)The Telangana High Court recently ordered the immediate release of a former railway employee’s pensionary benefits, stating that the mere pendency of a Special Leave Petition (SLP) by the CBI against the appellant’s acquittal in a case could not be a reason to withhold it.
The division bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice G M Mohiuddin delivered the judgment on Monday in a writ appeal. “Mere pendency of the SLP could not be treated as continuation of a judicial proceeding, which has ended up in the acquittal of the appellant by the appellate court. The statutory rule also does not permit withholding of pension upon conclusion of judicial proceedings,” the judgment said.
The appellant had faced both departmental and criminal proceedings, and was convicted in a criminal case in February 2010 before being dismissed from service in June 2010. However, the writ court acquitted him of all charges in November 2022, following an appeal, and he was reinstated in service in June 2023. He superannuated just two days later, on June 30 that year. The period of his dismissal was treated as “Not on Duty” based on the “No Work No Pay” principle.
Subsequently, the departmental proceedings, which were based on similar charges as the criminal case, were also quashed by the court. However, the court’s order included an observation that the appellant could only seek the release of his pensionary benefits after the disposal of the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) pending petition against his acquittal. It was this part of the order that the appellant challenged in the high court.
Pratap Narayan Sanghi, the appellant’s counsel, argued that there is no provision in the rules to withhold pension after an employee has been acquitted, especially when there is no stay on the conviction. On the contrary, L Pranathi Reddy, the senior standing counsel for the Centre, argued that the pendency of the SLP constitutes a “continuation of the judicial proceedings”. She further contended that if the appellant were to be ultimately convicted, the Railways would be unable to recover the disbursed pensionary dues.
“We are clear in our minds that if the judicial proceeding or departmental proceeding has come to an end in favour of the employee, like in the present case, the statutory rule does not provide for any exception to still withhold the pensionary dues of such an employee,” the judgment stated.
The high court concluded that the appellant is entitled to the release of his pensionary benefits following his acquittal and the quashing of the departmental proceedings. The court directed the respondents to make a decision on the release of the appellant’s admissible pensionary dues within four weeks.
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