Form J(2)

Sl.No.A-320

Sc

IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA

Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction

Appellate Side

Present:

The Hon’ble Justice Aniruddha Roy

WPA 6611 OF 2025

Madhumita Sen

Vs.

Union of India & Ors.

For the petitioner : Mr. Shyamal Kr. Das, Adv.

Mr. Shyamal Kr. Halder, Adv.

For the Respon- : Ms. Sanjukta Bhattacharyya, Sr. Adv.

dent No.1/UOI Ms. Sipra Chanda, Adv. For the Respon- : Mr. Ranjay De, Sr. Adv.

dent Nos.4,5 & 6/ Mr. Basabjit Banerjee, Adv.

National Insurance Mr. Adityajit Abel Bose, Adv.

Company Limited

Heard on : August 13, 2025 Judgment on : : August 13, 2025

Aniruddha Roy, J. :

On the prayer of the learned Advocate for the petitioner and the learned

Senior Advocate for the respondent nos. 4 to 6, the affidavit-in-opposition and

the affidavit-in-reply, filed by their respective clients are taken on record.

This is a hearing matter on affidavits.

Facts :

1. The petitioner on October 30, 1990 was employed with the then existing Tariff Advisory Committee (for short TAC). The Appointment Letter is Annexure-P2, at page 18 to the writ petition. Subsequently, by virtue of a policy decision dated April 25, 2011 taken by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, the said TAC was made defunct and/or non-existent and the employees were re-deployed and spread over in the four nationalized insurance companies mentioned therein, Annexure-P3, at page 21 to the writ petition. Accordingly, the Re- deployment Letter dated August 18, 2011, Annexure-P7, at page 26 to the writ petition was issued in favour of the petitioner and since then the petitioner became an employee of the National Insurance Company Limited (for short NICL). In due course petitioner has retired.

2. The Ministry of Finance, Union of India has adopted and published a pension scheme under the name and style of General Insurance (Employees’) Pension Scheme, 1995 (the said 1995 Pension Scheme). The same was amended subsequently by virtue of an amendment notification dated April 23, 2019, Annexure-P9 at page 29 (specifically at page 34) to the writ petition. The said amendment notification has introduced, inter alia, sub-paragraph 10 after sub-paragraph 9 which is quoted below :

“3. In the said Scheme, in paragraph 3.

A. After sub-paragraph (9), the following sub-paragraph shall be inserted, namely :-

(10) joined the service of the Corporation or a Company, as the case may be, before the 28th day of June, 1995, and continued to be in service of the Corporation or a Company on the date of publication of General Insurance (Employees’) Pension Amendment Scheme, 2019 in the Official Gazette (hereinafter referred to as “the said date”); and (a) within ninety days from the said date.

(i) Exercise an option in writing to become the Member of the Fund;

(ii) Authorize the trust of the Provident Fund to transfer the entire contribution of the Corporation or of the Company to their Provident Fund along with the interest accrued thereon to the credit of the Fund; and (iii) Authorize the Corporation or the Company, as the case may be, to transfer the entire contribution of the Corporation or of the Company to their Provident Fund that may accrue to them if any revision of scales of pay is effected from a date prior to the said date;

(b) Within ninety days after the expiry of the said period of ninety days specified in clause (a), (i) Refund to the Corporation or the Company, as the case may be, the entire amount of non- refundable withdrawal, if any, made from the Corporation’s contribution or the Company’s contribution to the Provident Fund account and interest accrued thereon together with interest at the rate of 9% per annum from the date of such withdrawal until the date of its refund to the Corporation or the Company, as the case may be, an amount equal to 3.7 times of their pay as on the first day of March, 2019, as a one-time contribution to the Fund;”

3. By virtue of introduction of the said amendment, the employees who joined the service of the Corporation or a Company, as the case may be, b