The Madras High Court has declined to interfere with the decision of State Bank of India in withholding payment of terminal benefits such as provident fund to two employees who retired in 2012 in view of pendency of a dispute over genuineness of their Scheduled Tribe status raised nearly three decades ago.
Justice S Vaidyanathan, however, directed the state-level Caste Scrutiny Committee to take a decision on the Scheduled Tribe community certificate produced by them at the time of joining the bank way back in 1979 and 1980 at the earliest.
Unless and otherwise the community certificate issue was resolved, the terminal benefits cannot be released, the Judge held disposing of petitions by N Balu and M Vedanayaki who retired in February and April 2012 respectively.
Questions were raised about the genuineness of their ST community certificate 27 years ago itself and the bank had sent the certificates to the respective district revenue officials for verification in 1992. But the issue was yet to be resolved.
Appreciating the bank for depositing the terminal benefits, the Judge said "if the amount is released to them without verification, they would be in advantage and the bank would be in most disadvantageous position."
He directed the state-level committee to "wake up from slumber" and dispose of the issue within three months.
"Whenever the community certificate is sent for verification, it should be scrutinised and a decision should be taken on its genuineness as early as possible, preferably, within four months. If the authorities in the state-level committee want to make the dream of Dr B R Ambedkar to come true, they should act for the said purpose in a dynamic way," the Judge observed.
