STATE OF ORISSA v. ORISSA KHADI AND VILLAGE INDUSTRIES BOARD
KARAMCHARI SANGH
INTRODUCTION:
A division bench of the Supreme Court ruled that employees of the Orissa Khadi and Village
Industries Board (a state cooperative entity) do not have the same pension entitlements as
government employees. Employees of the Board could not be treated equally with those of the
State Government, the court said, even though the State had established the Board to fulfill its
duty under Article 43 of the Indian Constitution to assist cottage businesses.
Workers in a corporation formed by a state government cannot enjoy the same benefits as state
government workers, as ruled by the Supreme Court.
FACTS OF THE CASE:
An appeal was filed against the order of the Orissa High Court, which ruled that the employees
of the Orissa Khadi and Village Industries Board should be provided a pension at par with the
government employees. The said organization was established by the state via Orissa Khadi
and Village Industries Board Act, 1955 under Article 43 of the constitution.
QUESTIONS OF LAW RAISED:
The question of law raised was as followsShould the employees of the organizations established by the state for discharging their duty,
be provided similar pensions and working conditions as if they were government employees?
JUDGMENT:
The honourable court held that the employees of the said organization are not liable to be paid
a pension at par with the government employees. The working conditions for the employees of
the board are specifically governed by the Orissa Khadi and Village Industries Board
Regulations, 1960, and hence, pension to be paid to such employees would be comprehensively
governed by the said regulation.
CONCLUSION:
It is an established principle that pension is a right of the employees, while the said judgment
does not dispute this principle, it states that where specific regulations lay down provisions
governing pension to be paid to employees of certain organisations, the same must be followed.