HON’BLE MRS JUSTI CE SUREPALLI NANDA

WRI T PETI TI ON No.12275 OF 2020

ORDER:

Heard Sri N. Janardhan Reddy, learned counsel

appearing on behalf of the petitioners, learned Government Pleader for Finance and Planning appearing on behalf of the respondent Nos.1 to 3, Sri D.Rama Krishna, learned counsel appearing on behalf of respondent No.7 and the learned Government Pleader for Services-I I I appearing on behalf of the

respondent No.13.

2. The petitioners approached this Court seeking

the prayer as under:

“…to issue an order, direction, writ more

specifically, a Writ of Mandamus declaring the action of the Respondents in not releasing pension and other pensionary benefits including Gratuity, EL arrears, PRC arrears, DA arrears, APGLI and increment as illegal, improper, unjust, arbitrary and violative of Article 14 & 21 of the Constitution of India and pass such other order or orders as this Hon'ble Court deems fit and proper in the

circumstances of the case.”

3. The case of the petitioners, in brief, is that the petitioners were denied all retirement benefits, including pension, gratuity, and arrears, by the Respondents. Despite being redeployed to the District Employment Office and working there until retirement, the petitioners were not paid their dues. Though the petitioners submitted representations to the Respondents requesting the respondents to release the retirement benefits namely pension, gratuity, arrears of PRC, Group Insurance claimed and D.A. arrears, however no action had been taken by the respondents on the said representations. Aggrieved by the same, the petitioners filed the present writ petition.

PERUSED THE RECORD:

4. The relevant portion of the counter affidavit filed on behalf of respondent No.7 is extracted hereunder:

“It is further informed that brought to my notice the names of all such employees who were absorbed in SMPCs have been removed from the rolls of the Corporation. The E.P.F., account of the employees have been closed. Their names were also not considered under bifurcation of united A.P.S.C.R.I.C. Ltd., by the Shiela Bhide Committee.

Therefore the entire issue has been submitted to the government through the Lr.No.E1/RIC/Admn/ 1329/2019/504, dated 26.04.2019 by the Managing Director and requested the APC & Principal Secretary to Government to Agriculture & Cooperation Department to kindly send a suitable reply to the Finance Department (HRM-VII), Department to pay the retirement benefits to all the ex-employees of A.P.S.C.R.I.C. Ltd., who are retired from service in SMPCs of various Telangana Districts and continue all the ex-employees of APSCRIC Ltd., Hyderabad who are still working in various SMPCs of Telangana Districts in including payment of salaries of every month in terms of G.O.Ms. No./24, dated 09.01.2002, as all such staff have joined in SMPCs as per approvals of the competent Authority on permanent absorption basis.

After perusal of the proceedings mentioned above from time to time I am of the opinion that since the names of all such employees who were absorbed in SMPC have been removed from the rolls of the corporation. The E.P.F., account of the employees have been closed and their names were also not considered under bifurcation of united A.P.S.C.R.I.C. Ltd., under IX Schedule Institutions by the Shiela Bhide Committee and all the employees deployed from APSCRIC Ltd., have been allocated employees-ID numbers and new GPF Accounts were opened in the name of each and every employee deployed to SMPC, Ranga Reddy and other District from the Corporation and have been completely detached from the Corporation and further certain ex-employees of the Corporation who were retired while working in SMPC have been paid retirement benefits (earned leave encashment etc) by the employee after deployment to SMPC, the Corporation is not liable to settle the retirement benefits to retired employees of the district employment exchange, Ranga Reddy District who were absorbed in the district employment exchange, Rang