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Judgment
Justice L.Narasimha Reddy, Chairman
This Contempt Petition is filed alleging that the respondents did not implement the order dated 16.12.2016 passed by this Tribunal in OA.2173/2014. The OA was filed by an Association of pensioners of BSNL and some retired employees. It was in relation to the method of calculation of pension. Earlier, an order was passed by the department of Telecommunications on 15.01.2003 indicating the formula to be adopted. The said order was set aside and a direction was issued to the respondents to calculate the pension of the applicants in the same manner as is done in case of Central Government employees and employees of Public Sector Undertakings like FCI as contained in OM dated 18.10.1999. Almost at the same time at which the CP was filed, the respondents filed W.P.No.10019/2017. Taking that development into account the CP was closed on 08.02.2018. The Writ Petition has since been dismissed on 24.01.2020. Thereupon, the applicants filed MA.1341/2020 for revival of CP. That was ordered and the CP was revised on 19.08.2020, and it was directed to be listed after four weeks. On 06.10.2020 when the CP was listed, there was no representation for the applicants, it was directed to be listed today.
When the case is called today, the learned counsel for Union of India sought time to file reply. Learned counsel for BSNL stated that it is a policy decision with serious implications and the issue is to be dealt with by the Government. We wanted to grant four weeks time to the Union of India to take steps in the matter. Learned counsel for the applicants Sri V.K.Sarma, however, seriously objected to that and insisted that the members of the Association are very old and matter cannot be delayed further. Therefore, we heard the matter in the absence of reply.
The direction issued by the Tribunal is to work out the pension of the members of the Association, who are thousands in number, in the same manner as is done in the case of the Central Government and the PSUs. The matter assumed finality only in the recent past. It is not known whether any SLP is been filed. Be that as it may, we dispose of the CP by directing the respondents to implement the direction issued in the OA within three months from the date of receipt of a copy of the order. There shall be no order as to costs.