CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has held that the state information commissioners are not entitled to pension.
The court said, “In the absence of any rule that explicitly recognises the entitlement of state information commissioners to receive pension, there can be no legal right for them to claim such benefits.”
The ruling came in the case of former information commissioner Jagadananda who had challenged the order in which the state government had rejected his claim for post-retirement benefits on July 22, 2020. Jagadananda had assumed office as state information commissioner on August 7, 2008 and completed his five-year tenure on August 6, 2013.
Dismissing Jagadananda’s petition, the single judge bench of Justice SK Panigrahi said, “The petitioner himself participated in meetings where the recommendation was made to urge the state government to establish rules for the provision of post-retirement benefits to state information commissioners. Given that the petitioner was fully aware of the terms of his service both at the time of his appointment and when he retired, he cannot now claim entitlement to pension benefits, particularly when such benefits were never extended to his post during his tenure.”
“The court’s intervention in granting pension benefits where none exists under the applicable rules would set a dangerous precedent, potentially encouraging similar claims and placing an undue burden on the state exchequer. Such an approach could lead to arbitrary and unsustainable financial obligations, undermining the principle that pension entitlements must be rooted in law and based on clear statutory provisions,” Justice Panigrahi opined in the November 8 order, a copy of which was officially released on Wednesday.