Pension arrears' non-payment irks HC

PATNA: Taking strong exception to the non-payment of pension arrears to the retired teachers of Patna University (PU), the Patna High Court on Wednesday observed that the teachers who have rendered valuable services to society do not deserve this shabby treatment in the evening of their lives. The court ordered that all the pension arrears of retired teachers for the period from April, 1997 to December, 2001, should be paid within two months failing which the HRD secretary would be handed out appropriate punishment on June 23 when the court re-opens after summer vacation. Hearing a contempt petition filed by the Patna University Retired Teachers' Association, Justice V N Sinha of Patna High Court ordered immediate payment of the arrear since there is no discrepancy and there is no evidence of any irregularity during the period in question, in the audit report. The judgement applies to all those teachers of PU who retired or died prior to January 1996. PU vice-chancellor and Registrar and HRD secretary and higher education director were present in the court. Pleading on behalf of the retired teachers, Gyanand Roy, advocate, informed the court that similar retired teachers of other universities of Bihar had been paid all their arrears, including gratuity at revised rate. While Magadh University was sanctioned Rs 24 crore for payment of pension arrears to its retired teachers, PU received only Rs 3.34 crore against its actual requirement of Rs 21 crore. Welcoming the decision of Patna High Court, association president B V N Sinha and secretary S K Ganguli appealed to the government to implement the court order at the earliest and save the retired teachers from unnecessary harassment.
THE TIMES OF INDIA; 29 Mar 2008, 0152 hrs IST , B K Mishra , TNN