Pension payments are statutorily exempt from attachment under the Pensions Act and Kerala Service Rules, ensuring debtor protections.

ORDER

Is pension attachable in execution of a decree for realisation of money? Does it enjoy the exemption like stipends and gratuities allowed to pensioners? These questions arise for consideration in this Civil Revision Petition.

2. The respondent bank had obtained a decree for realisation of money against the petitioner who is now a retired school teacher drawing a monthly pension of Rs.19,604/-. The decree was sought to be executed by attachment of pension and the execution court has by the order impugned directed attachment therefrom at the rate of Rs.6,300/- per month. The petitioner contends that no part of the monthly pension is attachable under the Pensions Act, 1871 ('the Act' for short) and the Kerala Service Rules, 1959 ('the Rules' for short). The bank on the other hand maintains that only stipends and gratuities allowed to pensioners are exempt from attachment under the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 ('the CPC' for short).

3. I heard Mr. Syam J Sam, Advocate on behalf of the petitioner and Mr. Leo George, Advocate on behalf of the respondent.

4. It is ofcourse true that only stipends and gratuities allowed to pensioners of the government or of a local authority or of any other employer is exempt from attachment under the provisions of the CPC. The relevant part of Section 60 CPC is as under:

“60. Property liable to attachment and sale in execution of decree:- (1) The following property is liable to attachment, and sale in execution of a decree, namely, lands, houses or other buildings, goods, money, bank-notes, cheques, bills of exchange, hundis, promissory notes, Government securities, bonds or other securities for money, debts, shares in a corporation and, save as hereinafter mentioned, all other saleable property, movable or immovable, belonging to the judgment-debtor, or over which, or the profits of which, he has a disposing power which he may exercise for his own benefit, whether the same be held in the name of the judgment-debtor or by another person in trust for him or on his behalf:

Provided that the following particulars shall not be liable to such attachment or sale, namely:-

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (g) stipends and gratuities allowed to pensioners of the Government [or of a local authority or of any other employer], or payable out of any service family pension fund notified in the Official Gazette by [the Central Government or the State Government] in this behalf, and political pensions;

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx”

5. But pension is specifically exempt from attachment in satisfaction of a decree or order of any court under the Act and Section 11 thereof can be profitably extracted hereunder:

“11. Exemption of pension from attachment:- No Pension granted or continued by Government on political considerations, or on account of past services or present infirmities or as a compassionate allowance, and no money due or to become due on account of any such pension or allowance, shall be liable to seizure, attachment or sequestration by process or any Court at the instance of a creditor, for any demand against the pensioner, or in satisfaction of a Decree or Order of any such Court.

This section applies also to pensions granted or continued after the separation of Burma from India, by the Government of Burma.”(emphasis supplied).

6. Similar provisions can be found in the Rules as well and Rule 124 of Part III thereof which is almost identically worded to Section 11 of the Act aforequoted is extracted hereunder:

124. Liability for attachment:- No pension granted or continued by Government on political considerations or on account of past service or present infirmities or as a compassionate allowance and no money due, or to become due, on account of any such pension or allowance shall be liable to seizure, attachment or sequestration by process of any Court in India at the instance of a creditor for any demands against the pensioner, or in satisfaction of a decree or order of any such Court.”(emphasis sup