Status: Not ApprovedHEAD: 24_Jai_SIA_HC slams govtByline: Syed Intishab AliRajasthan HC slams govt, RFC for “Unnecessary Litigation,” quashes pension withdrawal notificationTimes News NetworkJAIPUR: The Rajasthan High Court pulled up the Rajasthan Financial Corporation (RFC), observing that the State and its instrumentalities are the biggest litigants and that their approach of creating unnecessary litigation—seriously affecting litigants and wasting precious judicial time—cannot be ignored.A division bench of Justice Inderjeet Singh and Justice Ravi Chirania made the remarks (in order uploaded on Feb 20 ) while hearing a petition filed by the RFC retired officers and employees association. The petition challenged RFC’s notification dated June 09, 2020, which withdrew the Rajasthan Financial Corporation Employees’ Pension Regulations, 1990 with retrospective effect from June 21, 2004, and declared employees entitled instead to the Contributory Provident Fund (CPF) Scheme under the Rajasthan Financial Corporation Employees’ Provident Fund Regulations, 1958. The Pension Regulations, 1990 had been made effective from April 01, 1987.After considering earlier judgments by co-ordinate benches on the same Pension Regulations, the Court reiterated that repeated, avoidable litigation by State instrumentalities “cannot be allowed to go unnoticed.”The Court also examined the RFC Board’s decision dated March 18, 2020 and noted that, despite discussion of prior litigation and orders of the High Court and the Supreme Court, RFC still issued the June 09, 2020 notification based on a legal opinion the Court found contrary to law.“This unnecessary and unwarranted and intentional exercise by the RFC to unsettle the issue again by issuance of the impugned notification dated June 09, 2020 cannot be taken lightly, as again and again, the Courts have been burdened by RFC for the same issue which is no longer res integra,” the Court said.Accepting the petitioners’ challenge, the bench held the impugned notification violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India and “per se illegal, arbitrary, unjustified and unreasonable,” lacking any basis or justification on record. The notification dated June 09, 2020 was declared illegal, quashed and set aside. The Court further ordered that any consequential action taken by RFC pursuant to the notification “will also stands quashed.” MSID:: 128754112 413 |
