IMPORTANT POINT
The court established that pension regulations set by Bangiya Gramin Vikash Bank are binding and effective from the notified date, not from the retirement date, aligning with the principles of parity with sponsor banks.

JUDGMENT :

Ajay Kumar Gupta, J:

1. The writ petitioners are retired employees of Bangiya Gramin Vikash Bank and they have been superannuated from service on attaining the age of 60 years and allowed to get their superannuation pension on and from 01.04.2018 instead of on and from the next date of their retirements on superannuation as such they have filed this writ petition jointly as the reliefs, sought for, are similar in nature and common question of law is involved.

2. It is the case of the writ petitioners that they have been paid 2/3rd part of their Basic Pension plus DA applicable to it on and from 1st April, 2018 instead of their full Basic Pension as mentioned in the PPOs (without date), issued by the authority concerned i.e. Bangiya Gramin Vikash Bank (Employees’) Pension Fund Trust (i.e. BGVBEPF-Trust) in favour of the writ petitioners. It is settled principles of law declared by the Hon’ble Supreme Court about the parity in the pay, allowance and other benefits of the employees of Regional Rural Banks (in short RRBs) at par with the employees of sponsor banks. It would also include pensionary benefits as well. It is the contention of the writ petitioners that the employees of RRB would have deprived from greater benefits.

3. The writ petitioner no. 1 and others wrote a letter to the authority concerned BGVBEPF Trust demanding the payment of 1/3rd part of their basic pension which was not paid to the writ petitioners for the period from 01.04.2018 to 23.09.2019 but the prayer of the petitioners was rejected by the authority concerned on the pretext of reduction in the amount of pension on account of commutation of pension paid on 24.09.2019 by crediting to the respective BGVB SB accounts of the writ petitioners.

4. It is further case of the writ petitioners that in spite of direction passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in SLP (C) No. 39288 of 2012 on 25.04.2018 as well as the written instruction of the Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services, RRB, dated 07.08.2018, writ petitioners have been deprived from their legitimate superannuation pension. The writ petitioners had written a letter on 21.07.2020 and some other dates to the Chairman, BGVB seeking clarification on some anomalous inserted in Bangiya Gramin Vikash Bank (Employees’) Pension Regulation, 2018 (in short BGVBEPR, 2018) and in reply the GM, BGVB sent unsatisfactory replies to the petitioners on different dates without giving proper clarification to the points raised in their letter though the commuted value of pension of the petitioners credited to their respective BGVB SB accounts on 24.09.2019, the Bank authority paid 2/3rd parts of basic pension to the petitioners on and from 01.04.2018 to 23.09.2019. According to Rule 6(1)(ii)(b) of CCS (Commutation of Pension) Rules, 1981 the reduction in the amount of pension on account of the Commutation of Pension would be started on and from the date of which the commuted value of pension will be credited to the account of pensioner and this provision is applicable in the case of the petitioners according to Regulation 54 of BGVB (Employees’) Pension Regulation, 2018.

5. Regulation 26 of Bangiya Gramin Vikash Bank (Employees’) Pension Regulation, 2018 postulates that the superannuation pension will be granted from the next date of retirement on superannuation of the pensioners, but it is astonished that the respondent authority has given the effective date of Superannuation Pension to the retired employees on and from 01.04.2018 which is not at par with the regulation of sponsored Banks and even without any logical ground. Moreover, the Regulation 41 of Punjab National Bank and Regulation 39(6) of BGVBEPR, 2018 are not same and there are anomalies. The petitioners herein retired from their respective posts before 2018 and as per pension regulations, they are entitled to get their superannuation pension from the very next date of their retirement, but in the present case, the authorit