IMPORTANT POINT
Rule 6(2) of the All India Services (Death Cum Retirement Benefit) Rules 1958 allows only provisional pension during pending proceedings and prohibits the payment of Commutation of Pension and DCRG until the conclusion of such proceedings.

1. The State of Kerala/the Respondent No.2 in O.A.No.569/2016 of the Central Administrative Tribunal Ernakulam Bench has filed this Original Petition challenging Ext-P4 Order dated 02.08.2017 in the said O.A. The said Original Application was filed by the Respondent No.1, who is a retired Director General of Police seeking reliefs including direction to pass final orders in the disciplinary proceedings and direction to grant the DCRG amount and the Commutation of Pension.

2. When the O.A was taken up for consideration the Respondent No.1 limited his prayer to Direction to respondent No.2 to grant DCRG amount and Commutation of Pension and accordingly, by the impugned Ext.P4 order, the Tribunal directed the petitioner to disburse the Commutation of Pension and DCRG as prayed for in the O.A within two months from the date of the said order, after entering a finding that the rules relating to payment of pension and other retirement benefits to the members of All India Service do not contain any provision for withholding the pension and gratuity.

3. The above Original Petition is filed challenging ExtP4 order of the Tribunal on the specific grounds in view of Rule 6(2) of the All India Services (Death cum Retirement Benefit) Rules 1958, where a departmental or judicial proceeding is instituted or the where a departmental proceeding is continued after retirement, only provisional pension is permissible after retirement till final order is passed in the departmental proceedings; that payment of DCRG and Commutation of Pension is impermissible during the pendency of the departmental proceedings; and that in view of the said specific provision the Respondent No.1 was sanctioned provisional pension to the tune of 100% of the pension.

4. We heard Sri.Antony Mukkath, Learned Government Pleader for the Petitioner and Senior Counsel Sri.Nandakumara Menon.N for the Respondent No.1.

5. It is revealed from the O.A records that as on the date of retirement of the Respondent No.1 on 13.04.2012, departmental proceedings and also criminal case as C.C.No.10/2009 before the Special Judge II, CBI Court, Ernakulam, were pending against him.

6. We find that the Tribunal passed the impugned Ext.P4 order without noticing the specific provision in Rule 6(2) of the All India Services (Death Cum Retirement Benefit) Rules, 1958. The rule reads thus:

"6. Recovery from pension:-(1) The Central Government reserves to itself the right of withholding or withdrawing a pension or any part of it, whether permanently or for a specified period, and the right of ordering the recovery from pension of the whole or part of any pecuniary loss caused to the Central or a State Government, if the pensioner is found in a departmental or judicial proceedings to have been guilty of grave misconduct or to have caused pecuniary loss to the Central or a State Government by misconduct or negligence, during his service, including service rendered or reemployment after retirement.

Provided that no such order shall be passed without consulting the Union Public Service commission:

Provided further that-

(a) such departmental proceeding, if instituted while the pensioner was in service, whether before his retirement or during his reemployment, shall, after the final retirement of the pensioner, be deemed to be a proceeding under this sub-rule and shall be continued and concluded by the authority by which it was commenced in the same manner as if the pensioner had continued in service:

((b) and (c) (Omitted as unnecessary)

Explanation :- For the purpose of this rule:

(a) a departmental proceeding shall be deemed to be instituted which the charges framed against the pensioner are issued to him or, if he has been placed under suspension from an earlier date, on such date and

(b) a judicial proceeding shall be deemed to be instituted-

(i) in the case of criminal proceedings, on the date on which a complaint is made or a charge sheet is submitted, to the criminal Court; and

(ii) in the case of civil proc