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IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
SUJOY PAUL, SMITA DAS DE
Lilu Mahato – Appellant
Versus
Coal India Limited – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
SMITA DAS DE, J.
1. The intra-court appeal assails the Order dated June 16, 2022 passed by the Learned Single Judge in WPA No. 23725 of 2012 whereby the writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India was dismissed.
2. Draped in brevity, the necessary facts for adjudication of this matter are that the petitioner qua ‘Mining Sardar’ being the appellant was appointed in Amritnagar Colliery under Eastern Coalfields Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the said colliery) on September 19, 1967 during the operation of Coalmines Provident Fund Schemes Act, 1948 (hereinafter referred to as the Scheme of 1948). The appellant herein served a long uninterrupted period of 38 years and was subsequently superannuated on January 1, 2007. On March 1, 1971, the Ministry of Labour Employment and Rehabilitation introduced a Notification introducing a scheme named as “Coalmines Pension Scheme.” Thereafter on September 22, 2006 a Memorandum was issued by the Personnel Officer of the said colliery intimating thereby to the appellant that the appellants pension and provident fund shall be settled as per 1971 Circular as the appellant was on the verge of retirement i.e. with effect
Employee must exercise option to join pension scheme; failure disqualifies entitlement to benefits.
An employee must opt for the Family Pension Scheme within the statutory period to be eligible for benefits under the Employees’ Pension Scheme; failure to do so negates any claim for pension.
The main legal point established in the judgment is that the failure to exercise the option to join a Pension Scheme, despite multiple opportunities, constitutes waiver of the right to claim benefits....
Failure to opt for the Contributory Provident Fund by the cut-off date leads to automatic inclusion in the Pension Scheme, creating a legal fiction preventing claims against this transition.
Pension is a recognized right, and waiver of rights must be informed and conscious; prior undertakings do not negate rights established by subsequent regulations.
Employees retiring after amendments can exercise options for higher pensions within extended timelines, regardless of exit dates from the pension scheme.
Pension is a right and not a bounty; delay in opting for pension benefits due to ignorance or miscommunication does not bar entitlement.
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