Employees' pension scheme: SC refers pleas against HC order to larger bench

The Supreme Court referred the pleas challenging the 2018 verdict of the Kerala High Court which had set aside the Employees' Pension scheme 2014, to a larger three-judge bench for adjudication.

The Supreme Court Tuesday referred the pleas challenging the 2018 verdict of the Kerala High Court which had set aside the Employees' Pension (Amendment) scheme 2014, to a larger three-judge bench for adjudication.

The high court had held as arbitrary the amendments to the scheme which capped the maximum pensionable salary to Rs 15000 per month.

A bench of Justices U U Lalit and Ajay Rastogi said the submissions advanced before it touching upon the applicability of principle laid down in the verdict delivered by a two-judge bench of the apex court in 2016 goes to the very root of the matter and the logical course would be to refer these pleas, including the one filed by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), to a larger bench.

The apex court directed the registry to place these matters before Chief Justice of India N V Ramana for obtaining requisite directions so that the pleas could be placed before a larger bench.

Sitting in a bench of two judges it would not be appropriate for us to deal with said submissions. The logical course would be to refer all these matters to a bench of at least three judges so that appropriate decision can be arrived at, the bench said in its order.

The principal questions that arise for consideration are whether there would be a cut-off date under paragraph 11(3) of the Employees' Pension Scheme and whether the decision in R C Gupta (2016 verdict) would be the governing principle on the basis of which all these matters must be disposed of, it said.

The Kerala High Court had delivered its verdict in 2018 on a batch of pleas in which some of the petitioners had contended that the amendment had capped the maximum pensionable salary to Rs 15,000 per month and it was against the spirit of the scheme.

The high court had also set aside the proceedings issued by the EPFO declining to grant opportunities to the petitioners to exercise a joint option along with other employees to remit contributions to the Employees' Pension Scheme on the basis of actual salaries drawn by them.

In April 2019, the apex court had initially dismissed the appeal filed by the EPFO against the high court verdict.

Later, in January this year the top court had recalled the order dismissing the petition against the 2018 verdict of the high court.