HC hauls up T govt for cutting pensions, says no law allows it

SagarKumar.Mutha@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:16.06.2020

Making it clear that law does not permit it to tinker with pensions of retired employees, the Telangana high court on Monday wondered as to which provision of the law has enabled the state government to cut it from April this year.

A bench of Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B Vijaysen Reddy gave two days’ time to the government to explain its stand while hearing a batch of petitions filed by senior counsel S Satyam Reddy and others.

The CJ said: “Unless the state declares a financial emergency, it has no powers whatsoever to touch pensions. Even the Disaster Management Act does not contain any such provision. That is the legal status.”

Making no bones about his unhappiness at the government’s move, he further said: “Pension is not a charity. Law does not accord you (government) any permission even to defer its payment.”

“The GO issued by you in respect of pensions has no legal basis. It needs to be set aside,” he said while rejecting the government’s counter which, he said, has many “misplaced notions” in it.

Advocate general BS Prasad, while conceding that the government did not have a case legally, however, tried to drive home the impossibilities the Covid-19 pandemic had thrown in the way of the government. He tried to remind the court that the government had modified the cut after its intervention. At this, the bench said the ‘impossibility theory’ is applicable to a contract and not to a service.

‘Committing another wrong not the answer’

After the lockdown was imposed, the government first resorted to a 50% pay deferment to its employees and pensioners. Following the intervention of the high court, the government enhanced the pension payment to 75% and confined the cut to 25%. When hearing the case, the bench did not approve even the 25% deferment and insisted on repaying the deferred portion too.

“The pensioners are at the fag end of their lives. Their children may not look after them. Some of them are staying in old-age hostels as paying guests. If they are deprived of even this facility where will they go,” the bench sought to know. The AG explained that the government was rendered helpless even by the central government which deferred the payment in respect of GST share that ought to have come to the state. Prasad said he would file a detailed counter explaining the difficulties and wanted the court to post the case to July first week.

“If you are wronged there, then fight against it. But committing another wrong is not the answer because two wrongs won’t make a right,” the bench said and posted the case to June 17.

Unless the state declares a financial emergency, it has no powers whatsoever to touch pensions. Even the Disaster Management Act does not contain any such provision. That is the legal status

— R S Chauhan

CJ, TELANGANA HC