Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Aug 23: The High Court has directed the authorities of Waqf Board to consider the case of its retired employees for grant of pension as has been done with the similarly situated employees of the Board.
The 42 retired employees of the Board had approached the court through Senior Counsel S A Makroo seeking that their grievances be redressed.
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Justice Sanjay Dhar while granting interim relief to these employees directed the Board to consider the processing of cases of these 42 retired employees for grant of pension on the analogy of similarly situated employees. Court has also issued notice to the Board authorities for filing of reply to the main petition.
Advocate Makroo while projecting the case of these retired employees referred the “Jammu & Kashmir Muslim Specified Waqf and specified Waqf Properties Board employees service regulation 2007” and submitted before the court that under these regulation the petitioners are entitled for pension in terms of Rule 69, Rule 70, Rule 79, Rule 80, Rule 81, Rule 82, Rule 83 and Rule 84 of the regulation of 2007.
He argued that despite reaching the age of superannuation, the cases of petitioners for the payment of pension has not been processed and finalized in terms of the above mentioned rules, as such, the petitioners are compelled to approached the portals of this court challenging the action of the respondent-Board through the medium of instant petition on the various grounds.
These retired employees have been appointed in the Board from 1986 to 2012 and retired between 2022 to 2024 and are qualifying for pension in terms of rule 69, In terms of the aforementioned rules having reference to rule 80 the respondents are duty bound to process and notify the retirement notification of an employee of the Waqf board by the end of June of every year during the succeeding years.
As per the rule 80 costs a duty upon the Board that prior to three months before the date of retirement, the Chief Executive Officer shall process the case of an employee who is retiring that it has been specifically mentioned that if there is a delay in processing the pension the onus will lie on the department.
Court has been apprised that delay in payment of pension is in violation of fundamental, constitutional rights of the petitioners as also is against the service regulations and the treatment given to the other similarly situated employees .
“The petitioners before approaching this court made an honest attempt to settle their grievances by submitting representations to the competent authority, in this behalf the petitioners submitted representation dated 12.06.2023 and 19.06.2023”, Advocate Makroo said.
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