Himachal Pradesh High Court
Gian Chand vs Hrtc & Others on 2 November, 2020
Bench: L. Narayana Swamy, Anoop Chitkara
IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA
CWP No.4471 of 2020 a/w connected matters
Decided on: 02.11.2020
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1. CWP No.4471 of 2020
Gian Chand ...Petitioner
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HRTC & others ...Respondents
2. CWP No.3407 of 2020
Ram Padam ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
3. CWP No.4475 of 2020
Kamal Kishore ...Petitioner
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HRTC & others ...Respondents
4. CWP No.4476 of 2020
Hans Raj ...Petitioner
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HRTC & others ...Respondents
5. CWP No.4477 of 2020
Hans Raj ...Petitioner
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HRTC & others ...Respondents
6. CWP No.4490 of 2020
Tek Singh ...Petitioner
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HRTC & others ...Respondents
7. CWPOA No.7389 of 2020
Surinder Kumar ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
8. CWP No.4412 of 2020
Meera & others ...Petitioners
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HRTC & others ...Respondents
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9. CWP No.4413 of 2020
Lakshmi Devi & others ...Petitioners
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HRTC & others ...Respondents
10. CWP No.4414 of 2020
Shakuntla Devi & others ...Petitioners
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HRTC & others ...Respondents
11. CWP No.4697 of 2020
Susheel Kumar
HRTC & another
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...Petitioner
...Respondents
12. CWP No.4698 of 2020
Hukam Chand ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
13. CWP No.4699 of 2020
Milap Chand ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
14. CWP No.4700 of 2020
Pritam Chand ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
15. CWP No.4701 of 2020
Rajan Babu ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
16. CWP No.4702 of 2020
Chamel Singh ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
17. CWP No.4703 of 2020
Mehar Lal ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
18. CWP No.4704 of 2020
Ramesh Kumar ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
19. CWP No.4709 of 2020
Ramesh Chand ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
20. CWP No.4711 of 2020
Mam Chand ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
21. CWP No.4712 of 2020
Naresh Kumar ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
22. CWP No.4713 of 2020
Om Prakash ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
23. CWP No.4716 of 2020
Jai Krishan ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
24. CWP No.4717 of 2020
Shankar Lal ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
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25. CWP No.4718 of 2020
Amar Singh ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
26. CWP No.4719 of 2020
Harbans Lal ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
27. CWP No.4720 of 2020
Sansar Chand ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
28. CWP No.4721 of 2020
Kailash Chand ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
29. CWP No.4722 of 2020
Dalbir Singh ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
30. CWP No.4723 of 2020
Meena Kamal ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
31. CWP No.4798 of 2020
Santok Singh ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
32. CWP No.4799 of 2020
Parkash Chand ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
33. CWP No.4800 of 2020
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Nek Ram ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
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34. CWP No.4804 of 2020
Kuma Nand & others ...Petitioners
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
35. CWP No.4805 of 2020
Parshotam Lal ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
36. CWP No.4847 of 2020
Sunil Kumar ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
37. CWP No.4848 of 2020
Chet Ram ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
38. CWP No.4849 of 2020
Inderjit Singh ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
39. CWP No.4850 of 2020
Kamlesh Chand ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
40. CWP No.4851 of 2020
Parkash Chand ...Petitioner
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HRTC & another ...Respondents
41. CWP No.4495 of 2020
Kishori Lal ...Petitioner
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HRTC & others ...Respondents
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Coram
The Hon'ble Mr. Justice L. Narayana Swamy, Chief Justice
The Hon'ble Mr. Justice Anoop Chitkara, Judge
Whether approved for reporting?
For the petitioners: M/s H.R. Bhardwaj, Y.P.S. Dhaulta, Varun
Chandel, Raj Negi, Ashok Kumar and
Shivendra Singh, Advocates, for the
respective petitioners
For the respondents: Mr.B.C. Negi, Senior Advocate, with M/s
Shubh Mahajan, Vikas Rajput, Shyam
Singh Chauhan and Ajay Chauhan,
r Advocates.
Mr.Ashok Chauhan, FA & CAO and
Mr.Madan Sharma, Regional
Manager(Legal), HRTC.
L. Narayana Swamy, Chief Justice.(Oral)
All these petitions have been filed by the employees of the respondent-Corporation who have since retired w.e.f. 2017 to 2020. It is their case that they are not paid pension and retiral benefits. Hence, common prayer is made for payment of pension, DCRG, commutted value of pension and leave encashment etc.
2. According to the petitioners, non-payment of pension and pensionary benefits amounts to violation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, which is arbitrary on the part of the respondents, hence, they sought necessary directions for the release of the same alongwith statutory interest.
::: Downloaded on - 02/11/2020 20:21:03 :::HCHP 73. Mr.B.C. Negi, leaned Senior Counsel representing the respondent-Corporation, submits that out of total strength of 9691 .
employees, 6739 employees have retired from service and monthly retiral benefits have been paid to 6516 employees. It is further submitted that the monthly pension of remaining 223 employees would be paid regularly from the end of this month. In respect of retiral benefits, learned Senior Counsel submits that it includes commutted pension, DCRG, leave encashment and arrears.
4. In the affidavit dated 29th October, 2020, it has been stated that the Board of Directors of respondent-Corporation have approved the creation of separate Pension Account, directing to transfer 7% of the passenger receipt on daily basis to the said account and the decision of the Board of Directors was implemented w.e.f. 06.03.2019.
5. Though it is the duty of the respondent-Corporation to pay retiral benefits immediately after superannuation, but because of Corona pandemic the respondent-Corporation has not collected revenue since lock-down. Virtually for more than six months regular income has come down to a few lakhs in place of crores. For the said reason, the respondent-Corporation find it difficult to settle the retiral benefits.
6. Learned Senior Counsel submits that: (i) in respect of leave encashment and DCRG, principal amount of DCRG upto ::: Downloaded on - 02/11/2020 20:21:03 :::HCHP 8 October 2017 and principal amount of leave encashment upto August 2016 stands paid. Post March 2021 whatever funds shall be .
collected, will be disbursed in the order of retirement. However, in respect of leave encashment and DCRG, whosoever approaches the respondent-Corporation in exceptional circumstances i.e. death cases, marriage of the children, education of the children, serious ailments and repayment of house loan, the same shall be considered as an exceptional case and disbursed at the earliest; (ii) in respect of 223 retired employees, the commutted value would be paid within four months from today strictly in order of retirement; and
(iii) it is further submitted by the learned Senior Counsel on instructions from the officers, who are present in Court, that the arrears on the entire delayed payment will be paid with statutory interest on the entire amount.
7. In view of the above submission, all these petitions stand disposed of along with pending application(s), if any.
Copy dasti.
( L. Narayana Swamy), Chief Justice ( Anoop Chitkara), Judge November 02, 2020 ( vt ) ::: Downloaded on - 02/11/2020 20:21:03 :::HCHP