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TMI Blog1996 (3) TMI 576X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... er the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 (hereinafter called 'the Act') has been renamed Life Insurance Corporation (Oriental) Pension Fund. Thus, the responsibility of managing the said Fund was taken over by the LIC. The Company had framed rules for the administration of the pension Fund; Rule 10 whereof provided for addition of interest to the said Fund to the extent it would work out to 5% of the amount of the Pension Fund at the close of the year. Rule 11 permitted additions to the Fund by way of subsidies. Rule 24 provided for minimum pension. 3. The petitioners who are erstwhile oriental employees and beneficiaries under the said Fund contend that the pension amount admissible under the said scheme is very meagre and, therefore, to ameliorate the conditions of the old and infirm pensioners it is necessary to revise the pension adequately, consistently with Articles 38 and 39 of the Constitution. The petitioners contend that employees other than Oriental employees are paid dearness relief on their pension money while the same benefit is not extended to pensioners governed under the Pension Fund. 4. The Oriental employees is a withering class. At the date of t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ce the last 33 years or thereabouts. They, therefore, approached the Government to do away with the 6.38% deduction and enhance the pension consistently with the standard of living and other economic factors relevant to the same by giving dearness allowance. Reliefs in regard to certain other matters like medical allowance, family pension, etc., have also been sought. 6. The LIC in its counter contends that after the insurance business was nationalised with effect from 1st September, 1956, under Section 7 of the Act all assets and liabilities of existing insurers carrying on business in life insurance came to be transferred to and vested in the LIC. Section 8 of the Act inter alia provided for dealing with provident, superannuation and other like funds. The existing Pension Fund governing the Oriental employees was thus taken over by the LIC and has since been managed like an independent trust. This being the only pension scheme operating within the fold of the LIC, it is managed strictly in accordance with the rules and regulations governing the same. The entry to the said Pension Fund was closed by closed by the erstwhile Company in 1947 and therefore all employees who joined ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rules. Lastly, it is said that this Court should not exercise its jurisdiction under Article 32 of the Constitution because the very same dispute was the subject matter of Writ Petition No. 5137 of 1976 filed under Article 226 of the constitution in the High Court of Bombay wherein the Court after considering the pros and cons of the demands made by oriental employees rejected the same. Rule Nisi was issued on 8.11.1988. While issuing rule, this Court made an interim order after hearing learned Counsel for the parties directing the LIC to pay a minimum amount of Rs. 250 as pension to the pensioners getting less than Rs. 250. This minimum amount was subsequently raised to Rs. 375 by an order dated 7.5.1991. The LIC contends that as at present under this Court's order the Oriental pensioners covered under the Fund are actually receiving more than the employees covered under the Provident Fund Scheme; any further increase will prompt the latter to demand that they too be covered under the said or similar pension scheme. The LIC, therefore, prays that this Court should refrain from hiking up the pension any further as it is likely to set in motion a chain reaction which will throw ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... by the LIC employees to be brought on par with the Pension-Plan. 9. Several reliefs have been claimed in paragraph 55 of the writ petition. The first two reliefs need be noticed. The first is to step up the pension to a minimum of Rs. 375 p.m. and the second is to grant dearness allowance/relief linked with the cost index number in January and July every year as is admissible to pensioners of the Central Government or the State Bank of India with effect from 1.1.1973. There is the demand for refund of the 5% contribution recovered from 1954 and to discontinue the deduction made at the rate of 6.38% from the pension payable under the scheme. Next it is prayed that a Family Pension Scheme and Medical Reimbursement Scheme be introduced and the fixation of the pension amount be revised on the basis of the one calculated on the average pay of last ten months. It is obvious from the above reliefs claimed in this case that the pensioners desire to give a complete go-by to the extant pension-plan and replace it by a totally new scheme. These demands made in a petition under Article 32 of the Constitution totally overlook the fact the Court cannot substitute a totally new pension-plan in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... month. The pension presently being paid and the annuity payable on giving 10% rise to a few of the pensioners are as follows : Scheme B : The Pension Fund will be dissolved and the corpus of the Fund will be applied for issuing individual annuity policies to the pensioners. Every pensioner will be given a minimum annuity of Rs. 500 per month. Further, the pension will be increased every year at 2.5% per annum. The pension presently being paid and the annuity payable to a few of the pensioners for the next 10 years will be as follows : Scheme C: If the corpus of the Fund on dissolution of the Oriental Pension Fund is taken to be Rs. 2 crores and if an increase of 10% per annum in the annuity is to be provided, the minimum pension amount that would be possible is Rs. 575 p.m. and the pension payment to a few of the pensioners for the next 5 years would be as follows : Individual Annuity polices will be issued to provide for the payment as above. 11. We have carefully considered the three schemes worked out at our behest. It was emphasised on behalf of LIC that any increase in pension will throw a corresponding financial burden on establishment. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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