Courts can’t examine correctness of employees’ pension policy, says HC

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana high court has made it clear that the courts do not and cannot examine the correctness, suitability or appropriateness of a policy regarding employees’ pension framed by the state, nor are the courts advisers to the executive on matters of policy.
Justice Namit Kumar of the HC has made these observations while dismissing a bunch of petitions filed by employees of Punjab Water Supply & Sewerage Board seeking directions to direct the Punjab govt to grant them pension at par with the other employees under the local govt department.

The HC observed that any proposal for implementation of pension policy is subject to the approval of the govt, which was never granted in the present case in view of the poor financial position of the board. “Judicial review of a policy decision and to issue mandamus to frame policy in a particular manner are different. It is within the realm of the executive to take a policy decision based on the prevailing circumstances for better administration and it is not within the domain of the courts to legislate,” the HC has held.
The petitioners’ body had sought directions to quash orders of October 5, 2000, December 29, 2004, and November 13, 2014, passed by the Punjab govt, according to which the pension case of the employees has been considered by the govt and rejected. Further directions were also sought to frame a scheme for grant of pension and other retiral benefits to employees.
Opposing the plea, the department of finance observed that the department of local govt, Punjab, should work out the financial self-sustainability of the scheme by furnishing cash flow charts for 15 years. At present, there are 1,150 regular employees and 491 employees have retired since 1990. In case, the pension policy is introduced, the board has to pay hundreds of crores of rupees as the arrears of pensions when it is already facing a financial crunch, according to the MD’s submission.