Kerala State Electricity Board and The Chief Engineer (HRM) vs S. Krishnambal and Others

K. Vinod Chandran, J.—The only issue in the above appeal is the refund of the interim relief to pensioners/family pensioners granted to the retired employees of the Board. The petitioners are all employees of the Board who retired after 1.7.1998. They were granted interim relief by Exhibit R1(b) dated 15.11.1999, which made the same applicable from 1.7.1998. It was clarified that the interim relief will not carry dearness relief and the payment would be reckoned against the revision of pension as and when ordered by the Board. Subsequently, the revision of pay to Government employees was ordered by the State Government and consequently revision of pension too was ordered. These were adopted by the Board and Exhibit P2 order was issued regarding revision of pensionary benefits, in which it was specified that the two installments of interim relief sanctioned to the pensioners/family pensioners would stand withdrawn from 1.7.1998 and the total of the same would be adjusted in lump from the arrears of pension payable for that period. Since the pension of the petitioners were fixed at the pre-revised scale, notional enhancement as applicable to serving employees as on 1.1.1996 was ordered and the drop in existing pension was directed to be protected as personal allowance, which was also directed not to be absorbed in the future increase in dearness relief.

The petitioners approached the learned Single Judge on the ground that in determining the drop in pension the interim relief paid to the petitioners was also to be taken into account to compute the existing pension. This prayer was declined by the learned Single Judge on the ground that the Interim Relief itself was on the premise that the revision in pension was anticipated.

However, the petitioners were persons who were not entitled to any arrears with respect to pension and the Board attempted to recover the same from the arrears of Death-cum-Retirement Gratuity (for short "DCRG") payable to the petitioners. The Board supported the said action on the ground that the entitlement of the Board to refund the interim relief from pension includes entitlement to recover it from any retirement benefit available to an employee, including DCRG. The learned Single Judge found that monthly pension/family pension, DCRG, Dearness Relief, Medical Allowances, etc. are all separately dealt with in Exhibit P2 and cannot be taken to be one and the same. The interim relief was also specifically directed to be adjusted in lump from the arrears of pension payable for that period. The payment of the arrears of pension and DCRG being covered by different period of installments, it was held that one cannot be said to be part of the other. Looking at the fact that even the personal allowance to cover the drop in pension was specifically directed not to be absorbed in the future increase in dearness relief; the intention of the authority is very clear. Exhibit P2, as rightly found by the learned Single Judge, treats DCRG and pension as two different items and adjustment of interim relief already paid can be made only if the revision enures to the pensioners in the nature of additional amounts to be paid as arrears for the said period. The petitioners not being entitled to any such arrears of pension, we are of the opinion that the learned Single Judge was perfectly right in interdicting any refund from the petitioners with respect to the interim relief already paid.

We confirm the judgment of the learned Single Judge and dismiss the appeal, leaving the parties to suffer their respective costs.