2024 Supreme(Online)(ALL) 2784

HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
Saumitra Dayal Singh, Donadi Ramesh, JJ
Vinod Chandra Misra – Appellant
Versus
State Of U.P. – Respondent
WRIT - A No. 7743 of 2019

When a statute incorporates provisions of another Act by reference, those provisions are deemed part of the new Act. Consequently, terms defined in the incorporated legislation, including an expanded definition of pension encompassing family pension, apply to the recipient, and interest is payable on delayed statutory pension payments.

Headnote:(A) Legislation by Incorporation - Statutory Interpretation - Doctrine of incorporation by reference - Earlier legislative provisions incorporated into a later Act become part and parcel of the new Act as if bodily transposed - Definition of 'pension' within an incorporated Act, which encompasses family pension, necessarily applies to the benefits payable under the latter Act. (Paras 25, 33-36)

(B) Service Law - Family Pension - Entitlement to family pension - Even where specific provision is absent, legislation by reference to judicial service rules includes family pension as a component of retirement benefits - Denial of such entitlement by state authorities is unsustainable. (Paras 14, 23, 24)

(C) Interest on Delayed Pension - Statutory entitlement - Interest as compensation for loss of time - Where there is no valid legal impediment or conduct on the part of an employee causing delay in the disbursement of statutory dues, the authority is obligated to compensate for the delayed payment of pensionary benefits. (Para 22)

Facts of the case:
The petitioner, a former high-ranking judicial official who served as the chair of a statutory legal body, challenged the refusal of payment of interest on delayed pension arrears and the denial of family pension entitlement to his spouse. The state maintained that the governing rules did not contain express provisions for family pension or specific qualifying service periods for such benefits.

Findings of Court:
The court held that the rules governing the service conditions of the chairperson adopted the provisions of the high court judicial services legislation by reference. Therefore, the definition of 'pension' in the incorporated legislation, which includes family pension, remains applicable. Furthermore, the court found the state's denial of interest on delayed pension payments unjustified as the right to pension is a statutory right, and the delay was not attributable to the petitioner.

Issues: Whether the spouse of a retired chairperson of a statutory commission is entitled to family pension under the principle of legislation by reference, and whether the official is entitled to interest on delayed pension arrears.

Ratio Decidendi: Legislation by incorporation means provisions from an earlier Act are read as if they were written into the later Act. As the definition of 'pension' in the incorporated judicial legislation includes 'family pension', it cannot be excluded by the secondary legislation. Moreover, delayed payment of statutory pension benefits without legal justification entitles the beneficiary to reasonable interest, serving as compensation for the deprivation of funds.

Result: Petition allowed.