CUTTACK: In a significant judgement, the Orissa High Court has quashed all orders in which the state government had rejected the claims to get the benefit of pension and related benefits by employees of recognised aided educational institutions.
Employees, both teaching and non-teaching categories, who were extended the benefit under the Grant-in-Aid (GIA) Order of 2004 and subsequent GIA Orders issued by the state government at different points of time had claimed the Odisha Aided Educational Institutions’ Employees’ Retirement Benefits Rules, 1981.
Over 450 such employees had challenged in the high court the orders of the state government that had rejected their claims on the ground that only those who are under the “Direct Payment System” are entitled to get the benefit under Rule 3 of the 1981 Rules.
The single judge bench of Justice Biraja Prasanna Satapathy, however, on January 12 held that those employees working in non-government aided educational institutions receiving aid from the state government under Grant-In-Aid Orders from 2004 onwards are also eligible and entitled to get the benefit of pension and other benefits.
The judgment assumes significance as more than 20,000 employees working in non-government aided educational institutions including colleges, high schools, senior basic schools, middle English (ME) schools, Sanskrit tolls and junior basic schools will benefit from it.
“It is the view of this court that state cannot discriminate one set of employees from the other set by taking a plea that the employees are not coming under the Direct Payment System, since the word “Direct Payment System” has not been defined either in the Act or under the Rules, on such a tthe echnical plea,” Justice Satapathy ruled.
The rejection of the claims to get the benefit is not sustainable in the eye of law and accordingly all those orders are quashed, Justice Satapathy ruled and directed the state government to extend the benefit of pension and other pensionary benefits as due and admissible in terms of the provisions contained under Rule 3 of 1981 Rules in favour of the petitioners within a period of three months.