EPFO Updates: Three new judges will hear the appeals filed by the Employees’ Provident Organisation regarding the disbursement of EPF pension to employees in proportion to their salary.
The appeals were postponed to Friday, July 15, after it was pointed out by Advocate Aryama Sundaram representing EPFO that one of the presiding judges in the division bench was part of the Rajasthan High Court Bench that had passed an order in the matter. It was also pointed out that an advocate, who was Justice Bhat’s junior, was representing the petitioners.
Following the lawyer’s reference, Justice S Ravindra Bhat offered to recuse himself from hearing the appeals challenging the judgments of Rajasthan, Delhi, and Kerala high courts that had quashed the Employee’s Pension (Amendment) Scheme, 2014.
The situation further delays judgment on the case. Justice U U Lalit made the final decision to defer the case to Friday, July 15, saying a new combination of judges would hear the case. The court would not hear the arguments on Friday, but provide clarity on when the appeals would be heard.
The case came before the three-judge division bench of justices U U Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat, and Sudhanshu Dhulia after a two-judge division bench, citing the legalities involved, referred the petitions to it in August last.
Justice Bhat suggested that the appeals against the Rajasthan High Court judgment could be heard separately, or he could recuse from hearing the case. After consulting with co-judges, Justice Lalit said the petitions against the Kerala High Court would be considered first.
The petitioners requested that an order be put to prevent various high courts from passing different judgments in provident fund-related cases. However, the cohort rejected this immediately.
The issue that began this entire ordeal was when the Employee’s Pension (Amendment) Scheme in 2014 scrapped the then-existing option to provide pension in proportion to a person’s salary. It also amended the norm that fixed the pension based on a 12-month average salary to 60-months’ average.
However, ignoring the amendments in 2018, the Kerala High Court nullified the orders of the EPFO against awarding pensions proportionate to the salary. The Supreme Court has been considering the petitions by the Ministry of Labour and EPFO, challenging the high court verdict.
A review petition was filed after the Supreme Court had rejected the EPFO’s plea. The three-judge bench has been considering various legal issues involved in the plea and in the orders of various high courts.
Must Read: Viral Video: Woman Hilariously Carries Selfie Stick Through Flood
Keep watching our YouTube Channel ‘DNP INDIA’. Also, please subscribe and follow us on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and TWITTER.
