HC asks govt to pay pension of retd transport officials in two weeks

The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered that the pension of the retired employees of state-owned transport companies cannot be stopped and directed the state government to pay the pension within 14 days. The Bench also directed the state government to pay 50 per cent arrears of the retirement benefits within five weeks.

The Trinamool Congress-led government had stopped the pension and retirement benefits of former employees of Calcutta State Transport Corporation,Calcutta Tramways Company,North Bengal State Transport Corporation and some other companies from mid-2011 citing shortage of funds. Following the decision,a few retired employees of those companies challenged the government’s order in the High Court.

In November 2011,a single bench of the Calcutta High Court directed the transport companies to stop paying salaries to their higher officials until they paid the pension to their retired employees. The companies then challenged this order to the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court headed by Chief Justice Jaynarayan Patel.