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Judgment
ORDER
Per: Hon’ble Sanjiv Kumar, Member (A)
The applicant has filed this Original Application (OA) under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, seeking the following reliefs:
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(a)To admit this application;
(b)To direct the respondent to forthwith release the amount of NPS Accumulate Fund with exemplary cost.
(C)To call for the records and proceedings pertaining to the application made by the applicant for family pension and other benefits.
(d)Any other order thought fit be passed;
The brief facts of the case, as stated by the applicant, are that her son, Shri Vikas Sureshbhai Rana, was working as Lower Division Clerk under respondent No. 3.
He died while in service on 17.10.2011.
The applicant had earlier approached this Tribunal seeking payment of terminal benefits and family pension by filing O.A. No. 505/2014. The Central Administrative Tribunalsaid Original Application was disposed of on 16.09.2015 with a direction to the respondents to finalise the settlement of benefits and to take a decision regarding payment of interest on the delayed amounts.
The applicant was sanctioned family pension of ₹3,500 per month with effect from 18.10.2011 under the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972. Death-cum-Retirement Gratuity, leave encashment and the amount payable under the Central Government Employees Group Insurance Scheme were also sanctioned and paid to her vide order dated 15.07.2015.
The grievance of the applicant in the present Original Application is regarding the accumulated pension corpus lying in the National Pension System account of her deceased son. The applicant submitted representations, indemnity bonds, relinquishment deeds and other documents for release of the amount to the respondents. According to her, despite compliance with the requirements communicated by the respondents, the amount was not released due to procedural issues between the Nodal Office, the concerned Accounts Office and respondent No. 4, the Central Recordkeeping Agency.
Learned counsel for the applicant further submits that the applicant furnished all the documents demanded by the respondents, including translated documents, indemnity bonds and documents relating to the legal heirs. It is contended that the respondents failed to process and release the amount despite the death having occurred in 2011. The applicant claims that, being the mother and legal heir of the deceased employee, she is entitled to receive the amount admissible from his NPS account.
Respondent Nos. 1 to 3 have opposed the Original Application. They submit that the service-related terminal benefits and family pension admissible under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 have already been sanctioned and paid to the applicant. According to them, the delay in settling the NPS account occurred because of the requirement of procedural clarification and verification of documents between the Regional Office, the concerned Accounts Office and respondent No. 4.
Respondent Nos. 1 to 3 have further relied upon the instructions issued by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority on Central Administrative Tribunal 30.07.2014 which provides that where the family of a deceased NPS subscriber was granted family pension by the Central Government, the accumulated pension wealth in the NPS account was required to be transferred to the Government. According to the respondents, the applicant had opted for and was receiving family pension and, therefore, the NPS corpus was not payable directly to her.
Respondent No. 4 submits that it functions as the Central Recordkeeping Agency appointed by PFRDA and is not the employer of the deceased employee. It relies upon the PFRDA (Exits and Withdrawals under the National Pension System) Regulations, 2015 and the PFRDA circular dated 26.05.2016. According to respondent No. 4, the instructions prevailing at the relevant time required the accumulated NPS corpus to be remitted to the mapped bank account of the Nodal Office where family pension under the CCS (Pension) Rules had been sanctioned. It could process the transfer only after the Nodal Office uploaded the prescribed request and furnished the requisite forms and documents.
We have heard learned counsel for the parties and carefully perused the pleadings and material available on record. The limited question requiring determination is whether, after the grant of family pension under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, the applicant is entitled to receive any portion of the accumulated pension corpus standing in the NPS account of her deceased son.
The respondents have relied upon the DoP&PW Office Memorandum dated 05.05.2009, the PFRDA circular dated 30.07.2014 and the procedural circular dated 26.05.2016. Under the arrangement then prevailing, where the family of a deceased NPS subscriber availed family pension under the CCS (Pension) Rules, the accumulated pension corpus was required to be transferred to the Government. The communication issued by respondent No. 4 in September 2018 reflected the position prevailing under those instructions.
The legal and administrative position has, however, subsequently undergone a material change. Rule 20(2) of the Central Civil Services (Implementation of National Pension System) Rules, 2021 provides Central Administrative Tribunal that where benefits under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 or the CCS (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1939 are payable to the family of a deceased subscriber, the Government contribution and returns thereon forming part of the accumulated pension corpus shall be transferred to the Government account. The remaining accumulated pension corpus is required to be paid in lump sum to the person or persons in whose favour a valid nomination has been made and, in the absence of a valid and subsisting nomination, to the legal heir or legal heirs.
The deceased employee in the present case died on 17.10.2011, before the notification of the CCS (Implementation of National Pension System) Rules, 2021. The case is, therefore, specifically governed by Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare Office Memorandum No. 57/06/2021-P&PW(B) dated 14.10.2024. The said Office Memorandum deals with cases in which an NPS-covered Central Government employee died, or was discharged on account of disablement or invalidation, before notification of the 2021 Rules and benefits under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 or the CCS (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1939 were granted in place of NPS benefits.
Paragraph 6 of the Office Memorandum dated 14.10.2024 provides that, in such cases, only the Government contribution and returns thereon shall be retained in the Government account. The remaining corpus is required to be paid to the Government servant, nominee or legal heir, as the case may be, in accordance with the CCS (Implementation of National Pension System) Rules, 2021.
Paragraph 7 of the aforesaid Office Memorandum expressly makes these instructions effective from 01.01.2004. It further provides that the employee’s contribution, together with the returns thereon, shall be paid to the nominee, legal heir or Government servant, as the case may be, along with interest calculated from the date of death or boarding out up to the date of actual payment, at the rates and in the manner applicable to Public Provident Fund deposits from time to time.
Thus, the fact that the applicant has been granted family pension under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 does not result in forfeiture of the Central Administrative Tribunal contribution made by the deceased employee to his NPS account or of the returns attributable to that contribution. The applicant’s claim for payment of the entire accumulated NPS corpus cannot be accepted because the Government contribution and returns attributable thereto are liable to be retained by or transferred to the Government. At the same time, rejection of the applicant’s claim in its entirety would be contrary to the CCS (Implementation of National Pension System) Rules, 2021 and the Office Memorandum dated 14.10.2024.
In view of the facts and reasons stated above, the Original Application is partly allowed with the following directions:
Respondent Nos. 1 to 3 shall, in coordination with respondent No. 4, determine separately the contribution made by the deceased employee and the returns on it;
They shall separately determine the contribution made by the Government and the returns on it;
The Government contribution and the returns shall be retained in or transferred to the appropriate Government account;
The employee’s contribution, together with interest calculated in terms of paragraph 7 of DoP&PW Office Memorandum No. 57/06/2021-P&PW(B) dated 14.10.2024, shall be released to the valid nominee or legal heirs;
A detailed statement of calculation showing the employee’s contribution, the returns attributable thereto and the interest allowed shall be supplied to the recipient.
The aforesaid exercise shall be completed and the admissible amount shall be released within a period of sixty days from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order.
The Original Application stands disposed of in the above terms. Pending MAs, if any, also stand disposed of. There shall be no order as to costs.