Jharkhand HC Slaps Down “Harsh” Pension Forfeiture; Orders Rethink on Retiring Messenger’s Fate
W.P.(S) No. 929 of 2023
By Sandhya kaika
The Jharkhand High Court has intervened in a disciplinary dispute involving a former employee of the Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (JBVNL), ruling that the total forfeiture of pension and gratuity was “shockingly disproportionate” to the offenses committed.
The petitioner, Amaresh Bhattacharya, who joined as a Messenger in 1984, found himself under fire following a complaint by his wife in 2017. A departmental inquiry substantiated two major allegations:
Investigation revealed Bhattacharya appeared for matriculation in 1973 with a birth date of April 1, 1954, but later used a 1986 certificate claiming he was born on September 19, 1961.
The inquiry confirmed the petitioner entered into a second marriage while his first wife was still alive, without obtaining a legal divorce decree.
Based on these findings, JBVNL authorities retroactively retired him effective March 31, 2014 (based on his original 1954 birth date) and issued an order on May 8, 2023, to withhold his entire pension and gratuity.
Justice Ananda Sen upheld the decision regarding the retirement date, noting that the evidence of age manipulation from the Bihar School Examination Board was clear. However, the Court drew a line at the financial “death penalty” imposed on the retiree.
”The quantum of punishment ‘forfeiture of full pension and gratuity’ does not commensurate with the proved charge... withholding of entire pension and gratuity is too harsh.”
While acknowledging that courts generally do not interfere with the domain of disciplinary authorities, the Court invoked its power of judicial review for a penalty that “shocks the conscience”.
The court set aside the forfeiture of the full pension. The matter is now remanded back to JBVNL to decide on a more appropriate, less severe punishment within six weeks, after giving the petitioner a fresh hearing.
