Rights of retirees: CJP takes notice of pension payout defaults

Tells senior officials to submit reports on instances of unprepared or incomplete papers.

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali took suo motu action on Friday over non-payment of retirement benefits and pensions to retired employees by federal and provincial departments.

The CJP directed the court’s office to fix the matter for hearing on November 14.

Notices were issued to the attorney-general, advocates-general of all provinces, including the legal counsel for Islamabad, the controller-general of accounts, Islamabad, accountant-general of Pakistan revenue (AGPR), accountants-general and directors-general of all provincial capitals, military accountant-general, Rawalpindi.

The CJP also asked them to submit reports regarding the number of cases in which the federal and provincial government departments did not bother to prepare or complete pension papers of employees concerned on attaining the age of retirement or otherwise.

The CJP took cognisance of the matter after SC judge, Justice Amir Hani Muslim, sent a four-page note titled ‘non-payment of retirement benefits by the relevant departments’, highlighting the issue of non-payment of pension benefits despite the directions of the Supreme Court’s 2007 judgment.

He also cited a news item regarding a Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) employee, Muhammad Iqbal.

Justice Amir Hani Muslim, in his note, also mentioned details of a large number of complaints received by the apex court’s human rights cell.

He observed that the right to pension was a fundamental right of an employee guaranteed under Articles 9 and 14 of the Constitution.

The note stated that the denial of this right (pension benefits) to employees, by the relevant parent departments, passing the buck on other department needed to be examined by this court.

“…It would be in the interest of the public at large to take up the issue … by converting this note into a Constitutional Petition under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution, as the issue has direct nexus with the fundamental rights of the civil servants/employees, who are denied their right of pension in time. In fact, this inordinate delay has exposed the employees to a lot of inconvenience,” Justice Hani stated.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2016.