The main legal point established in the judgment is that the BOCW Act and Rules do not specify a timeline for processing pension applications, and the court emphasized the need for early submission of applications to expedite the pension process.

JUDGMENT :

CM APPL.14919/2023 (delay)

1. In view of the averments made in the application, the same is allowed and the delay stands condoned.

CM APPL.14917/2023 (for filing of additional documents)

2. This is an application seeking filing of certain additional documents.

3. Having considered the averments made in the application, the same is allowed and the additional documents, as referred to in the application are taken on record.

4. The application stands disposed of.

LPA 209/2023

5. The present appeal has been preferred against the judgment dated 10.01.2023 passed by the learned Single Judge of this Court in W.P.(C) 15941/2022. The said writ petition was filed by the appellant seeking that the respondent no. 1 be directed to release the pension payable to her under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, [“the BOCW Act”] with interest @18% per annum.

6. Vide the impugned judgment, the learned Single Judge has, inter alia, held as under:—

“6. Having considered the submissions of the learned counsel for the parties and perused the record, I find that while there is no dispute that the petitioner was entitled to receive pension w.e.f. 01.02.2021, it is also an admitted position that the requisite documents for sanction of pension were submitted by her only on 05.08.2022. In these circumstances, the respondent is justified in urging that pension could not be sanctioned in the petitioner's favour without her submitting the requisite documents and, therefore, it cannot be said that there was any inordinate delay on it's part in sanctioning the pension payable to the petitioner. Even though, both, the Act and the Rules are silent regarding the time period within which the pension must be sanctioned, in my view, the respondent, which is enjoined with a statutory duty to disburse pension in favour of these construction workers, who play a crucial role in the building of the society, ought to take expeditious steps to ensure that pension is released to them at the earliest.

7. In the present case, the petitioner submitted all the requisite documents on 05.08.2022 and therefore, even if a period of 45 days is taken as a reasonable period for the respondent to have processed the petitioner's application for grant of pension, there is still a delay of more than three months in sanctioning the pension in her favour. Learned counsel for the respondent, except for stating that the respondent is dealing with 16 lakhs registered building and construction workers, is unable to provide any justification for this delay. The pension in favour of the petitioner has been sanctioned only on 06.01.2023 and that too after she was compelled to approach this Court.

8. I have also considered the decisions of the Apex Court relied upon by the petitioner, I find that the same unlike the present case, pertain to cases where the Court was dealing with grant of pension to government employees where the dates of their superannuation are known to the employers well in advance. In the present case, the Board, which is dealing with over 16 lakhs registered building and construction workers, is discharging altogether a different responsibility and, therefore, the parameters applicable in the cases of government employees cannot be made per se applicable to the Board. However, this does not imply that the petitioner should not be paid any interest at all. In my view, it would be in the interest of justice that the petitioner should be paid interest on the delayed amount of pension after discounting 45 days from the date she submitted her documents on 05.08.2022. The writ petition is, accordingly, disposed of by directing the respondent to pay interest @ 6% per annum on the delayed amount of pension with effect from 21.09.2022 (after excluding 45 days w.e.f. 05.08.2022).

9. Before I conclude, I may observe that since the Act and Rules are silent regarding the time period during which the pension must be sanct