Is the government recovering more money from pensioners than what was given to them when they opted for commutation of pension, is a query on which Delhi High Court has sought an explanation from the Centre.
"Can you recover more from a pensioner than what has been given? Explain how it is not excess recovery. Explain how much is the principal, interest and whether you have recovered more from anyone," a bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Ashutosh Kumar said to the government.
The court was hearing a PIL which alleged that while the commuted amount of pension was fully recovered with interest in around 11 years, the Centre was recovering the amount for an additional period of four years.
The court asked the government to file an affidavit with calculations explaining the number of years that is contemplated when commutation pension and monthly recovery amount are fixed.
"The object is to find out whether recovery is more than commuted amount with interest," the bench said and listed the PIL for hearing on April 19.
The petition has been filed by Forum of Retired IPS Officers (FORIPSO) which has challenged Rule 10A of the Central Civil Services (Commutation of Pension) Rules, 1981, which provides that the full pension would be restored only after 15 years if the option is availed.
Under the option of commutation of pension, a lump sum amount is paid to the pensioner and in order to recover the same a certain percentage, upto a maximum of 40 per cent, is deducted or surrendered from the monthly pension of the retired government servant.
Under the existing rules, the full pension is restored only after 15 years.
FORIPSO has contended that the commuted amount of pension plus interest is recovered within 11 years, but the Centre recovers it for an additional four years, bringing the total recovery period to 15 years, whereas in several states this has been reduced to 12 years.
During the hearing, the bench observed that the government's commutation of pension system was "functioning like an insurance premium" as it appeared that those who survived (after their retirement) "were being saddled" with the loss suffered by the government when a pensioner died before the commuted amount was recovered from him.
Denying the allegations of FORIPSO, the Centre said it will provide the explanation with calculations regarding how it recovers the commuted amount of pension.
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