'Pensionary Benefit To Retired Employees Is A Vested Right Subject To Fulfilment Of Prescribed Conditions', Orissa High Court Dismisses Claim For post-retirement benefits

A Single Judge Bench of Orissa High Court comprising Justice Dr. S.K. Moreover, as per a state policy, only State Chief Information Commissioners were entitled to post-retirement benefits and the Petitioner could not claim such benefits as there was no policy in place for State Information Commissioners. Contending that as per Section 16 of the Right to Information Act, 2019, the Central Government had the power to formulate rules governing the service conditions of both Central and State Information Commissioners, the Counsel stated that the Opposite Party did not have the jurisdiction to create any rules, memoranda, or orders concerning post-retirement benefits. Elaborating upon the same, the Court relied on Prabhu Narain v. State of U.P, wherein it was held, “No doubt pension is not a bounty, it is a valuable right given to an employee, but, in the first place it must be shown that the employee is entitled to pension under a particular rule or the scheme, as the case may be.” Citing several judgments including UP Roadways Retired Officials and Officers Association v. State of UP & Anr, Shristidhar Mahato v. State of Jharkhand, the Court observed that pensionary benefits could only be extended to an employee if he/she held a pensionable post and fulfilled the conditions laid down under the Statute. Making these observations, the Court concluded that since there were no specific rules to recognize the entitlement of State Information Commissioners to receive pension, no legal right to claim such benefits existed with the Petitioner.