Court: Withholding pension is cruelty at hands of govt
TIMES NEWS NETWORK 28.11.2024
Bengaluru : Terming the withholding of salary dues and pension benefits over a pending departmental inquiry ‘cruelty at the hands of the govt,’ Karnataka high court has ordered the release of arrears to a 73-year old retired municipal administration officer within two months. Sadashivappa, from Bengaluru, retired in Feb 2012, but his pension and salary arrears were withheld while awaiting the report of an inquiry into certain allegations against him. After exhausting his options, he approached Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal, which rejected his petition on Feb 6, 2024. He moved HC.
A division bench of Jus tices Krishna S Dixit and C M Joshi ordered the govt to pay Sadashivappa ₹9.5 lakh in dues, with 1% interest from the day the amount was withheld. “The rate of interest should be increased to 2% per month, instead of 1%, with retrospective effect if the delay exceeds two months. Further, the respondents should pay a cost of ₹50,000 to the petitioner,” the bench added. The govt advocate submitted that, following certain audit objections, auditor general had directed the recovery of ₹3.1 lakh from Sadashivappa, which is permissible under Karnataka Civil Service Rules (KCSR).
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