The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra Government to consider the claims of retired employees seeking an annual increment due on July 1, immediately after their retirement. The benefit will be available to employees who worked for at least six months in the last year before retirement. A Division Bench of Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke and Justice Raj D Wakode passed the order while hearing a petition filed by Subhash Vinayakrao Parankar and other retired government employees.

 

The petitioners sought the inclusion of the annual increment in their last drawn salary and a corresponding revision of their pension. They argued that they had completed the required service but were denied the increment because they retired just before it became due. The Bench noted that the issue had already been settled by the Supreme Court in Director (Admn. and HR), KPTCL vs V C P Mundinamani. The Supreme Court had held that employees retiring on June 30 were entitled to the annual increment earned after completing one year of service.The State’s counsel accepted the legal position but said the eligibility of each petitioner needed to be verified from service records. The High Court directed the authorities to decide the employees’ representations within six weeks. It also ordered that eligible employees be paid arrears for three years before filing their petitions or the actual period, whichever is less. Their pension must also be recalculated by including the increment in their last drawn salary. Any arrears must be paid within 90 days. However, the Bench ruled that the employees would not be entitled to interest on the delayed payments. If the authorities reject any claim, they must communicate their decision to the concerned employee within two weeks.