SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Uday Umesh Lalit, CJI., Aniruddha Bose, Sudhanshu Dhulia, JJ.
The Employees Provident Fund Organisation & Anr. etc. – Appellants
Versus
Sunil Kumar B. & Ors. etc. – Respondents
Civil Appeal Nos 8143-8144 of 2022 (Arising out of the Special Leave Petition (C) Nos. 8658-8659 of 2019) with Civil Appeal Nos of 2022 (Arising out of Special Leave Petition (C) Nos. 16721-16722 of 2019), Civil Appeal No of 2022 (Arising out of Special Leave Petition (C) No. 3289 of 2021), Civil Appeal No of 2022 (Arising out of Special Leave Petition (C) No. 3287 of 2021), Civil Appeal No of 2022 (Arising out of Special Leave Petition (C) No. 1701 of 2021), Civil Appeal No of 2022 (Arising out of Special Leave Petition (C) No. 8547 of 2021), Civil Appeal Nos of 2022 (Arising out of Special Leave Petition (C) Nos.15063-15064 of 2022 @ Diary No.46219 of 2019), Civil Appeal No of 2022 (Arising out of Special Leave Petition (C) No. 1366 of 2021), Civil Appeal No of 2022 (Arising out of Special Leave Petition (C) No. 2465 of 2021), Civil Appeal No of 2022 (Arising out of Special Leave Petition (C) No. 3290 of 2021), Civil Appeal No of 2022 (Arising out of Special Leave Petition (C) No. 1738 of 2021), Writ Petition (C) No.318 of 2022, Writ Petition (C) No.1218 of 2020, Writ Petition (C) No.1332 of 2020, Writ Petition (C) No.1312 of 2019, Writ Petition (C) No.875 of 2019, Writ Petition (C) No.832 of 2019, Writ Petition (C) No.601 of 2019, Writ Petition (C) No.500 of 2019, Writ Petition (C) No.512 of 2019, Writ Petition (C) No.466 of 2019, Writ Petition (C) No.86 of 2021, Writ Petition (C) No.1356 of 2021, Writ Petition (C) No.1379 of 2021, Writ Petition (C) No.767 of 2021, Writ Petition (C) No.477 of 2021, Writ Petition (C) No.414 of 2021, Writ Petition (C) No.1134 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.390 of 2019, Writ Petition (C) No.511 of 2019, Writ Petition (C) No.1459 of 2020, Writ Petition (C) No.349 of 2019, Writ Petition (C) No.372 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.360 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.233 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.141 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.118 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.250 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.406 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.368 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.393 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.395 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.371 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.374 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.385 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.367 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.369 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.411 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.466 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.269 of 2019, Writ Petition (C) No.327 of 2019, Writ Petition (C) No.352 of 2019, Writ Petition (C) No.69 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.804 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.594 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.884 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.778 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.874 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.1149 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.1167 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.1430 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.1433 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.1428 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.380 of 2018, Writ Petition (C) No.498 of 2022, Contempt Petition (C) Nos.1917-1918 of 2018 in Civil Appeal Nos.10013-10014 of 2016 and Contempt Petition (C) Nos.619-620 of 2019 in Civil Appeal Nos.10013-10014 of 2016
Decided On : 04-11-2022
JUDGMENT
Aniruddha Bose, J.
Leave granted.
2. In this judgment, we shall deal with the legality of certain amendments and modifications made by the Central Government to the Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995 (“1995 Scheme”). Such scheme has been made in pursuance of, inter-alia, Section 6 A of the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 (“the Act”). Such changes, inter-alia, are sought be effected in paragraphs 3, 6, 11, 12 and 14 of the 1995 scheme. The Act originally did not provide for any pension scheme and Section 6 A was introduced to the said Act by way of an amendment made in 1995. The amendment of 1995 contemplated formulation of a scheme for employees’ pension and the pension fund was to comprise of deposit of 8.33 per cent of the employers’ contribution made towards provident fund corpus as per the prevailing Statue. Paragraph 11 of the scheme dealt with determination of pensionable salary. At that point of time, maximum pensionable salary was Rs.5000/- and this sum had been enhanced subsequently to Rs.6500/-. Pensionable salary was raised to Rs.15000/- by a notification dated 22nd August 2014 [numbered G.S.R. 609 (E)], which was to be effective from 1st September 2014. This notification brought certain other modifications in the scheme mainly restricting its coverage and we shall discuss these modifications later in this judgment.
3. In the appeals before us, judgments of the High Courts of Kerala, Rajasthan and Delhi are assailed. In the case of P. Sasikumar & Others v. Union of India (UOI) Represented by the Secretary to Govt. of India Ministry of Labour & Department of Employment and Others [in Writ Petition (C) No. 13120 of 2015], a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court in its judgment delivered on 12th October 2018 set aside the Employees’ Pension Amendment (Scheme), 2014 conceived in G.S.R. 609 (E). The Delhi High Court in its judgment delivered on 22nd May 2019 in the case of Bhartiya Khadya Nigam Karamchari Sangh and Anr. v. Union of India and Ors. [in Writ Petition (C) No. 5678 of 2018] followed the view expressed by the Kerala High Court and quashed a circular issued by the provident fund authorities on 31st May 2017 precluding exempted establishments from the benefits of higher pension. In a decision delivered on 28th August 2019 in the case of Union of India and Others v. Jale Singh and Others [in D.B. Special Appeal Writ No. 436 of 2019] a Division Bench of the Rajasthan High Court also expressed the same opinion. Appeals arising out of SLP (C) No. 3289 of 2021, SLP (C) No. 3290 of 2021, SLP (C) No. 2465 of 2021 and SLP (C) No. 3287 of 2021 are directed against the aforesaid judgment of the Rajasthan High Court and a subsequent decision of a Bench of equal strength delivered on 24th September 2019 in the same line. The appeals originating from SLP (C) Nos. 15063-15064 of 2022 are against the judgment of the Delhi High Court delivered on 22nd May 2019, whereas in appeals having their roots in SLP (C) No. 1366 of 2021, SLP (C) No. 1738 of 2021, judgments of the Delhi High Court delivered following the case of Bhartiya Khadya Nigam Karamchari Sangh (supra) have been assailed. In another judgment delivered by the same Bench of the Kerala High Court in the case of Sunil Kumar and Ors. v. Union of India & Ors. [in Writ Petition (C) No. 602 of 2015] on the same day, i.e. 12th October 2018, the aforesaid notification of 22nd August 2014 was invalidated. That judgment is under challenge in the appeals in connection with SLP (C) Nos. 16721-16722 of 2019. In a contempt action brought before the Kerala High Court by aspiring beneficiaries of the pension scheme for implementation of the directions issued in the judgment dated 12th October 2018, certain directions have been issued by the Kerala High Court. The judgment to that effect delivered on 6th November 2020 is impugned in SLP (C) No. 854
Bengal Immunity Company Limited v. State of Bihar and Others (1955) 2 SCR 603 [Para 28]
Keshav Mills Co. Ltd. v. Commissioner of Income Tax Bombay North
Krishena Kumar v. Union of India and Others (1990) 4 SCC 207 [Para 32]
Pepsu Road Transport Corporation
R.C. Gupta and Others v. Regional Provident Fund Commissioner
Union of India and Another v. Raghubir Singh (Dead) by Lrs. Etc. (1989) 2 SCC 754 [Para 28]
Waman Rao and Others v. Union of India and Others (1981) 2 SCC 362 [Para 28]
Amendments to the Employees' Pension Scheme found arbitrary and ultra vires, violating employees' vested rights and lacking a reasonable legislative basis for alterations, thus courts upheld original....
Amendments to the Employees' Pension Scheme cannot impose retrospective cut-off dates for exercising pension options, affirming beneficiaries' rights established prior to amendments.
An amendment with retrospective operation that takes away a benefit already available to the employee under the existing rule violates the rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constituti....
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