Summary
A bank employee appointed in 1975 on a Scheduled Tribe certificate retired after 38 years but, two days before superannuation, received a cessation order on the ground that the certificate was false, and his retiral benefits were withheld. Verification had been pending for 19 years; the first scrutiny report was quashed by the Madras High Court for denial of hearing, and a second was again made ex parte on a notice actually served on a stranger, yet the High Court dismissed his writ petition and review. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal: pension is a constitutional right under Article 300A, verification must be expeditious under Madhuri Patil, a proceeding questioning tribal identity cannot be ex parte save in exceptional cases, and with the burden of proof undischarged the certificate must be presumed genuine; all benefits were directed with 6 per cent interest.
Issues
- Whether post-retirement benefits can be withheld from an employee on the ground that his Scheduled Tribe community certificate is false where the scrutiny proceedings, pending for 19 years, were concluded ex parte without affording him a hearing or the right to cross-examine.
Provisions considered
- Article 300A, Constitution of IndiaFollowing State of Jharkhand v. Jitendra Kumar Srivastava and Dr. Uma Agrawal, the right to receive pension is a right to property and not a bounty; it cannot be taken away without authority of law or proper justification. (¶¶ 11, 12)
- Articles 14 and 21 (principles of natural justice), Constitution of IndiaAudi alteram partem was violated when both scrutiny reports were made without hearing the employee; the second notice was served on a different person as the postal record admits, a fact the High Court ignored in review, and a person whose identity and rights are challenged must be heard and allowed to cross-examine. (¶¶ 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23)
Held
- The guidelines in Madhuri Patil require verification of community certificates to be completed expeditiously, preferably within two months; an unexplained delay of 19 years, with the cessation order issued two days before superannuation when no enquiry was even pending, discloses a clear pattern of harassment. (¶¶ 13, 14, 15, 16)
- Though retiral benefits cannot be granted where employment rests on a proved fake certificate, here the claim of falsity remains unproved because both reports were made without the employee's participation; a Scheduled Tribe certificate is an acknowledgment of historical injustice and proceedings questioning it cannot, except in the most exceptional circumstances, be ex parte, so with the burden of proof undischarged the certificate must be presumed genuine. (¶¶ 21, 22, 23)
Result
Appeal allowed; Madras High Court orders dated 16.04.2019 and 13.02.2020 set aside; appellant held entitled to all post-retirement benefits for his 38 years of service, which the respondent bank is directed to pay with 6 per cent simple interest from the date they fell due until payment; no order as to costs.