MY OBSERVATIONS, HUMBLE COMMENTS & PROJECTIONS AFTER READING S/SRI
A.S.RAMANATHAN & C.H.MAHADEVAN’S EMAILS
I)a) Reg. 56 of LIC Pension Rules provides that “Matters relating to pension & other
benefits in respect of which no express provision has been made in these rules shall be
governed by the corresponding provisions contained in the CCS(Pension)Rule 1972, or the
CCS(Commutation of pension ) Rules,1991 applicable for CG Employees “ This submission
has been upheld by Rajasthan HC reported WLC1999(2) wlc 232 that if the Scheme is silent
on the point, the Central Services Pension Rules ,1972 will apply. This finding has been
upheld even by Hon Supreme Court
b) Simply put, there cannot be a 1st class treatment for some & a 3rd class treatment
for others similarly circumstanced . Factors affecting daily life & living are the same & so
solutions also should be in similar directions .In fact, it applies with greater force for
insurance pensioners as insurance Regular Pension is far less than Govt RP & why, even Govt
Family Pension is higher than insurance RP itself ! !
II)a)Most important, GOVT Pension Regulations do not provide for revision of
pension. Central Civil Services(Pension )Rules, 1972 are statutory in character .
But, Govt has repeatedly gone ahead with pension revision & with it Railways, only thro
Administrative orders,without any amendment in its own Pension Regulations.
b)That did not preclude the Govt from giving effect to V CPC & again VI CPC
recommendations. VI Pay Commission also added value rightly, increased % of pension at
ages 80,85,90,95 & 100 years to the tune of 20,30,40,50 & 100% ,which we don't secure &
that demonstrated empathy towards Elders.
c)Policymakers & Courts have to see Social security reality, growing needs of Elders
& Sr Citizens in a Welfare State & uphold beneficial regime without an iota of reluctance &
enhance value & worth for those who gave sweat & toil for the rapid progress of the
institution
III)a)It is to be borne in mind that LIC itself , in its letter dt 31/12/2001 & 11/8/2003,
to MOF/UOI state clearly “ there is an urgent need to rationalize the DR structure available
to different groups of pensioners in order to reduce the administrative inconvenience & also
to see that different generations of pensioners are protected by merging the pension to a
suitable index. ”
b)It is also added “ Central Civil Services (Pension)Rules ,on which LIC (Employees)
Pension rules has been broadly designed, contains such an
upgradation
formula
corresponding to revisions effected for Central Govt Employees ”
IV)a)Look at DR per slab difference Rs0.93 to 11.50 for pre-8/97 now after 8/2007
wage revision rising to a whopping Rs 6.37 to Rs 29.25 from Asst to ED cadre .
Now 5 Groups of pensioners corresponding to Wage Charter period, DR payment
discriminatory to each group is a flagrant violation of Agreed conclusions .Parity between
pensioners & in-service employees is thrown to the winds.Look at the significant loss for all
cadres & if one notices the CPI 600,1148,1740,2328,2994 & it is jumping as at 1/8/2012 to
4328 , difference of 1334 in view of continued double digit inflation now only abating slowly,
as against about 600 points or 150 slab difference in 5 years.
This is downright discrimination between pre-8/1997 pensioners & post-8/1997 Pensioners &
Employees.SC must remedy the serious malady by declaring Appendix IV as null & void,
ultravires of the Constitution & void abinitio.SC must order LIC to pay the difference in DR to
pre-8/1997 pensioners from the date of their retirement.
How can any sane Court & more so a Supreme Court, accept such a lackadaisical attitude of not
helping pensioners to lead a NORMAL LIFE after such long decades of excellent service & in
return such continued loss mounting & mounting only.
HOW can any progressive organization bind Future employees & pensioners to a limited
agreement & more so with illegalities & insufficiencies & adverse repercussions on
pensioners ,disturbing the CONCEPT of EQUALITY
b)Kerala HC ,Chandrasekar Menon T vs UOI & Ors :
‘the object of compensation & neutralization is completely defeated by payment of DR
after reducing slab at all stages .DR at decreasing slab at all stages is unjust & unreasonable’
V)a)PENSIONERS ANCHORED TO CPINDEX 600 & 1148 WILL BE NOTIONALLY
BROUGHT TO 1740 ie 0.23 % WITH FINAL RBP +NEW DR . THESE FITMENTS WILL HELP
PENSION UPGRADATION FOR PRE-8/1997 PENSIONERS. WITH THAT, POST-8/1997
PENSIONERS WILL BE FITTED to 0.18% FOR 1/8/2002—31/7/2007 & 0.15% for
1/8/2007—31/7/2012 RESPECTIVELY & final round of talks for 1/8/2012--31/7/2017 is
YET TO TAKE PLACE.
b)THAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE & MEANING OF THIS SECRET LETTER dt 31/12/2001
TO Sri AJIT SHARAN,THEN JS,MOF. IT HAS A VITAL BEARING ON CONTINUED PENSION
UPGRADATION .It exposes LIC doublespeak about pension upgradation, saying Board
Resolution refers to Full DR only,whereas in this letter to Joint Secretary(Insurance &
Banking) goes beyond Board Resolution to capture full & continuous pension upgradation.
THIS LIC LETTER dt 31/12/2001 to JT SECRETARY ,MOF WILL CERTAINLY SERVE AS A
CLINCHER DURING SUBMISSIONS AS ALSO SOONER DURING SLP FINAL TEST & DDay 23
September, 2015
VI)a) Static,unchangeable basic pension is unthinkable.We have outlined subsisting
Regular Pension wide cleavage & difference in relation to CG RP. CG FamilyPension itself is
higher than LIC RP. LIC Basic FP ranges, after death of RPensioner is ,for Asst to ED Pre8/1992,Pre-8/1997,Pre-8/2002, & Pre-8/2007 to a WOEFUL, PITTANCE of Rs572—1050,
1100—2100,1349—3450 & 2048—5260 plus DR
Maximum CG Regular pension is a whopping Rs52,200 plus DR as against V PC maximum
Rs33,075.
b)CG BASIC Family Pension is itself a high Rs21000+DR .Such monstrous
differences & perversities can be set right only by a Sane Judiciary determined to cure the
malady persisting for so long. Regular Pension upgradation assumes importance in this
context.
VII)a)There appears to be an unnecessary apprehension & doubt whether the FINAL
VERDICT will cover ONLY Petitioners & not embrace ALL pensioners. Supreme Court always
upholds concept of universal application, whenever the grievance or anamoly is extensive &
adversely affects the whole group in similar situation THE APEX COURT HAS EXTENDED
APPLICATION OF THE JUDGEMENT TO ALL SIMILARLY PLACED PENSIONERS.It was explicitly
made clear in Gratuity case of 2008 & Delhi HC Judgement applying Jaipur Judgement “in
rem ”
b)The Supreme Court judgement under Case NO Appeal(Civil)No 1289/2007 (Para
25) which read :"The revision of scales of pay as also other allowances is technical in nature.
When a benefit is extended to group of employees the effect of such benefit if otherwise
comes within the purview thereof, must be held to be applicable to other group of
employees" and the Jaipur HC judgement was in tune with this Apex court verdict
c)WHATEVER, DEPENDING ON FINAL OUTCOME, WIDOW WILL GET BENEFIT OF
REGULAR PENSION REVISION from THAT DATE stipulated & secured by us in SC
Submissions,till DATE OF DEATH IN FULL & thereafter REVISED FP. This happened in
Gratuity case also (1/8/92-31/7/94) where though pensioner has died, widow alive got
difference in Gratuity with interest announced by the Court.It is gratifying that 17/10/2012
SC Bench order grants pension revision wef from the date of retirement of pensioners,which
will enable pensioners to secure benefits from their date of retirement
VIII)a)Rules which provide for differential treatment amongst the same class of
employees are violative of Articles 14, 16 and 21 of the Constitution and are not
enforceable. While in the instant case the retired employees are being treated unequally in
as much several classes have come up amongst the one class of retired employees
(pensioners), this miniclassification itself is violative of Articles 14, 16. No law permits
creation of different classes amongst one class.
b) There can be no law in breach of fundamental rights of equity and equality as
guaranteed under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution and also right to life with dignity as
guaranteed under Article 21. If there is any such provision it itself is null and void)
c)No amendment in the Pension Rules are required because there is no provision in
the Pension Rules that pensions will never be revised. Further illegality and
unconstitutional act cannot be allowed to survive even a day
d)The provision of relief ,since the introduction of the pension schemes in these
institutions, applying automatically in quickest possible time ,only to GOI pensioners and
denying the same relief to the pensioners of these institutions does not have any objective
criteria for such classification for such discrimination and exclusion. As a corollary, such
aberrations & deficiencies have to be corrected & Equity restored at the hands of justice thro
the Supreme Court. It is applying equal laws applying alike to all in a like situation.
.
IX)a) Basic criteria is grant of similar pension for all those with same length of
service & that is violated. It is an anachronism that LIC pensioners still continue in pre-1995 IV
Pay Commission mode.
b)) No amendment in the Pension Rules is required ,because there is no
provision in the Pension Rules that pension will never be revised .
c))RELIEFS CLAIMED DO NOT OFFEND ANY OF THE PROVISIONS OF
LIC PENSION RULES,1995
d)There are clear provisions in the LIC Pension Rules 1995 for revision and up
gradation of pension.
X)a)What is more the MPs and MLAs, by themselves ( without a mechanism
like Pay Commission) fix and raise their own salaries, allowances, huge perquisites and their own
pensions( without any minimum service period! ) as often as they want. Even an MP who has
served just only one term of 5 yrs is eligible for pension thro’ out his life time! ( Triple Standard!)
b)As NPS Scheme has started wef 5/2010 for LIC new employees ,pension
upgradation becomes slowly a closed affair&
c)We are all aware that all cases of pensioners in various HCs & SC,whether
it relates, to VRS Retirees, or Pensioners who resigned, or those clamouring for Full pension
,as they have put in 20 years of service, or retention & non-payment of Gratuity or pension
for those where disciplinary action is taken,Courts have ruled favourably.
XI)a)) KA ANSARI & OTHERS VS INDIAN AIRLINES ( SC) 28-11-2008 :
….. If they have any doubt or if the order was not clear it was always open to them to
approach the court for clarification of the said order. Without challenging the said direction
or seeking clarification IA could not circumvent the same ON ANY GROUND WHATSOEVER.
DIFFICULTY IN IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ORDER PASSED BY THE COURT HOWEVER GRAVE
ITS EFFECT MAY BE IS NO ANSWER FOR ITS NON-IMPLEMENTATION.
b)Further, the following observations of Hon’ble SC in a recent judgement is quite apt
“Rajeshwar Singh Vs. Subrata Roy Sahara & Ors.
[Contempt Petition (Civil) No.224 of 2011]
[Civil Appeal No.10660 of 2010]
K.S. Radhakrishnan, J.
Courts, if they are to serve the cause of justice, must have the power to secure obedience to its
orders to prevent interference with the proceedings and to protect the reputation of the legal
system, its components and its personnel,who on its behest carry on a court
monitored investigation. The court is duty bound to protect the dignity and authority of this
Court, at any cost, or else, the entire administration of justice will crumble and law and
order would be a casualty.
............................J. (G.S. Singhvi)
............................J. (K.S. Radhakrishnan)
New Delhi,
December 9, 2013.”
XII)a)WE took correct figures of PENSIONERS RP as well as FP bifurcated ,not all in jumbo
together. While CO actuals were taken as app 14460 Pre- 8/97 till 31/7/2007, we took 25,764 in all
40224 comprising 27,952 RP & 12,272 FP. BUT,as actual pensioners figures till 2009-10 itself, TP is
41,676 only ie 1452 more taken into account,so, OUTLAY figures come down much lower.
b)Outlay taking into account all pensioners at the Maximum of the grade is what was
quoted. But realistic & pragmatic calculations done on the basis of reasonable assumptions, at
the Midpoint grade, was much lower.Some amount was also added in respect of Section Heads &
Supdts ,which cadres were abolished long before.Outlay in their case will be nominal. Only because
of delay & delay, years get added & so too outlay.
c) This can be taken as an approximate Summary of required outlay on updation of pension
from 1/8/1997 to 31/1/2012 , -- REGULAR PENSION FOR CADRES ASST,HGA,AAO, AO, ADM, DM,
SDM, ZM, ED,DEV OFFICERS, OTHERS(SWEEPERS, SUBSTAFF, R C ,DRIVERS ) for VARIOUS
PERIODS OF RETIREMENT-No of pensioners in each category was taken into account.It was a
laborious& painstaking exercise undertaken by me & Sri CHMahadevan,stretching for many
months with over a Century of emails & phone info, with almost every data supplied by me from my
Archives & gathering extra info from SZ & suitable ,realistic assumptions or extrapolations done
with care & attention, arriving at ,total 27,952 pensioners from 1/1/1986 to 31/7/2007 who
count for this.Pensioners after 1/8/2007 are excluded for now & benefit for them can flow only
after Current Wage Charter is completed in full.. OUT LAY Rs 968.01cr
SAME FOR FAMILY PENSIONERS: here also No of FP app in each cadre was worked
out..--TOTAL, 12,272 FP. OUTLAY Rs119.18cr)
GRAND TOTAL OUTLAY RP& FP,Added 968.01 + 119.18= Rs 1087.19 cr
XIII)a)3 more years 31/1/2013,31/1/2014,31/1/2015 pension revision is to be
added to arrive at fairly correct estimates of outlay.The trend existing for last 4 yrs of
pension Payments denote Rs 637 cr, 688cr 779cr & 792cr for years 2010-11,2011-12, 201213 & 2013-14 respectively.Even for every 5 years, total payments are not doubling,so
moderate only ,even over a continuum.
b)So,it appears 15 % rise every year,is on the high side.10% looks realistic,judging
trends,For outlay also, applying 10% rise yearly,as ENTIRE number of pensioners is
included,outlay comes to Rs 1196cr,1316 cr & 1448 cr as at 31/1/2013, 31/1/2014 &
31/1/2015 Even if we stretch to 15 % ,THE FIGURES STAND AT Rs 1250cr, 1438cr & 1654 cr
respectively for same period updated.
c)So, Rs 3200 cr is pretty high.Even a 15 % rise leads to Rs 1654 cr only,whereas in
reality, the figure can be Rs 1448 cr app. So too,Rs250 or 300 crpa.
XIV)PLUS, an important limb of pensioners Family Pensioners is rising rapidly from
17 % of RP to 38 % of RP.We noticed, the pittance of FP as narrated above, & so OUTLAY rise
will not present any dark conclusions.& for a gigantic institution like LIC,mother of all
financial institutions, affordability is not a criteria.We know that LIC never raised outlay
question in any proceedings in Courts .Only at this last stage a UTurn, with UOI backdoor
entry & intrusion, which any time now, will be exposed.
XV)Another control is pension payments to Salary payments was a meager 5.5 % to
6.5 % only. Salary payments by 31/1/2016 will shoot up.Easily from Rs 11895 cr,14705 cr
for year ending 3/2013 & 3/2014 to an astronomical figure as FULL Wage rise agreement
impact can be noticeable & so pegged at app Rs 18,000cr.Ratio of pension to salary,after
revision of wages will fall to 4.5-5.5 %
Total Income is pegged at Rs 3,85,501 cr ,growth 18.1%.
Total Expenses of Management Rs34,447 cr, showing a rise of 9.4%
If TOTAL INCOME is taken into account, which it ought to be, then %of New Pension
upgraded will be a very small fraction., as for TPI, ratio is as small as 0.33—0.37 only !!
XVI)a)Total number of pensioners stood at 38,200 in 2006-07,38434 in 2007-08 &
43,043 in 2010-11. It is just 1907 pensioners only per Year added All India,app 238 perZone.
ii)TOTAL PENSION PAYMENTS RIGHT from 1995-96 to 31/3/2011 for 16 long years comes to
Rs 3707.84 Cr only .WE can also be HAPPY that PENSION PAYMENTS for ALL 45,476
PENSIONERS for 1 YEAR PERIOD ENDING 31/3/2012 is only Rs585.41Cr ie Rs10,738PM ON
AN AVERAGE,very small AMOUNT .
b)It must be noted that 7TH PAY COMMISSION recommends MINIMUM SALARY as
Rs21,000
Should not we pensioners of all groups,on an average secure MORE than this Minimum
Salary.It is MODEST & REALISTICE,This WISH is not MOONSHINE.
XVII)Judged from other angle too, Pensioners are on SOLID grounds,feet firmly on
earth,
OPERATING EXPENSES & EMPLOYEES REMUNERATION & WELFARE EXPENSES.
Extracted from LIC performance as at 31/3/2011 from website & audited accounts
a)TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES--31/3/2010 :Rs 12,246 cr : Rs422Cr PENSION PAYMENTS
3.45% only -31/3/2011 :Rs16,980cr: Rs497cr PENSION PYTS 2.93% only
It is crystal clear, a lion’s share is utilized for Other operating Expenses & Serving
Employees welfare.Then why not pensioners be allowed pension revision with every wage
revision as Outlay Per annum is moderate & app works out to Rs 110/120Cr only,peanuts
for LIC.
.
XVIII) It must be EMPHASISED before Hon SC Bench that outlay PER ANNUM is very
moderate,app Rs110/120cr per annum & only because of setting right discrimination from the date
it arose, cumulative figures get added with every passing year.Death toll also rises
astronomically, sad & grim picture,
XIX)a)What pensioners are asking for is :
not even the tail of the Wage agreement PLLI or
the tail of the subsidiary benefits,other than BP,DA,HRA,CCA etc like Transport
allowance,Fixed Personal Allowance,Cash Medical Benefit etc,granted to employees inwage
settlements or
the tail of the Meal Coupon outlay bonanza as an Anniversary gift to employees on
1/9/2010, Rs500crpa or
Domiciliary benefits allowance of Rs4000—8000 , Rs75cr pa app, or
Medical Check up from age 45 of employees Rs 2000—4000 for various cadres &
frequency increasing at higher ages
b)Needless to say,after FINAL VICTORY,whatever correct data LIC includes & takes
into account,we verify the methodology & principles & as strongly reiterated in Court
verdicts 7&Pay Commission Report, they mention that pension revision, fixation etc be done
in the same manner as is being done for employees at the time of wage revision.So, whatever
outlay comes into prominence finally is the one which pensioners secure happily.
XX)a) Manmohan C vs Kerala State Warehousing Corpn ,MOF utterance that such grant of
pension updation will lead to repercussionsin PSBanks & elsewhere –‘is nothing but a
concocted bogey by Central Govt .Such a statement is unfounded ,& is nothing but meekness
& has no constitutional or legal foundation.’
This throws out the so-called Ripple effect on banks etc theory offered as an excuse by UOI
b) Justice Khandelawal Committee Report claims that Institutional settlement is the only
logical & coherent answer to such issues & not jumbo for all, as industry-wise is on
macrobasis,susceptible to improprieties & inefficiencies & so not conducive & full scope &
powers on all HRD,Personnel matters including wage/pension as necessary concomitant to CEOs .
XXI)a)The Petitioner has come out with the ground of financial ramifications but
have failed to realize that when for employees, apart from a decent & handsome salary &
allowances rise for each wage charter, also inventing newer form of hidden benefits of
Special allowances and the like,and schemes like Midday Meals coupon for all employees of
LIC with a sizeable annual expenditure of app Rs500 crores.What all pensioners demand is
that same level of empathy must be displayed towards less privileged ,aged,infirm,
pensioners who deserve more concern & blessings from the institution which they served
with dedication for 35 & more long years & such expectations are modest & reasonable,as
the cost for pension revision after every wage revision is modest & affordable
b)The Pensioners are demanding their legitimate right of equity, equality,dignity of
life and for that financial ramifications cannot be cited as an excuse ,more so by modern
progressive and enlightened institutions as they ought to be ,and LIC always hailed
universally as an institution par excellence with peoples money for peoples welfare & a
proven track record of a giant of financial strength and solidity
XXII) A U-TURN at this last stage is concocted untruth, wants to reverse the forwardlooking trend so crystal clear believing some clutches will emerge,& above all, furnishing
points & issues never raised before in any of the Courts or sittings & hearings.Let us pray
that proves Counter-Productive & earns the wrath of SC Bench with this vast treasure-trove
of materials embracing almost ALL issues pertinent to take an impartial, equitable,
justifiable & justiciable Verdict to be acclaimed by Entire Pensioner Fraternity of ALL
institutions & Govt & other Undertakings too.
XXIII)
ATLEAST NOW ,it is fervently hoped, initiated THE START OF THE CORE &
KERNEL OF THE LONG DRAWN OUT CASE,TO BE ROLLED OUT, ie PENSION UPGRADATION IN
DUE COURSE,VIRTUALLY CLEARING THE PATHWAY TO ""'CONTINUUM'', AS HON SC BENCH
have said in their ORDER dt 7 May,2015 &
ALSO FORTIFIED & STRENGTHENED BY THEIR REPEATED LOGIC IN SAME MANNER, AS THIS
CASE “INVOLVES ENHANCEMENT OF PENSION " TAG THE CASE ON 23 SEP 2015 IN 1--5 ONLY
,SIGNIFYING
XXIV)THAT ON THAT DATE ,THEY WILL ENSURE RAPID FIRE ARGUMENTS & CROSS
EXAMINATION & HOPEFULLY, NOT TO DRAG ,AS HITHERTO, & CONCLUDE IN FAIRLY QUICK
PERIOD TO THE DELIGHT & HAPPINESS OF ALL,WITH PERMANENT RELIEF TO BODY & MIND
,PAST TENSE TO PRSENT TENSE LEADING TO A WONDERFUL & BEAUTIFUL FUTURE
TENSE,EVEN IF PINPRICKS AFTER VALID JUDGEMENT WE MAY FACE,YET CANNOT ROCK THE
BOAT OF PENSIONERS FRATERNITY.
GREETINGS,GOODLUCK & GODSPEED,
R.B.KISHORE,VP,AIRIEF
DEAR ALL,
I attach two tables and charts prepared by me based on a comparison of the figures of
Pension Payments made from 2004-05 to 2013-14(obtained by Mr C S Murty under RTI) vis-avis the Salary expenses(published in LIC Annual Reports) during the same period.
The data are very revealing and very clearly establish the extent of discrimination in pension
on account of non upgradation.
The trend lines on both these are highly divergent highlighting the stagnant nature of
pension payments as against the steadily increasing salary expenses over the nine-year
period.
This, in a way, is a corroboratory factor that should urge the LIC to remove the pension
disparities at the earliest-thanks to a favourable outcome under the three Civil Appeals before
the Supreme Court.
With greetings for a Happy Makara Sankranti,
C H Mahadevan