New Delhi: In a partial victory to Kerala stand, the Supreme Court on Monday removed Rs 15,000 as threshold limit to enter the pension scheme. Also, for those who retired, the top court extended deadline for joining revised pension scheme as six months from now.
The crucial judgment came over a batch of petitions that sought to challenge High Court verdicts of Kerala, Rajasthan and New Delhi quashing the Employee’s Pension(Amendment) Scheme of 2014.
In its verdict today, the Court upheld the 2014 amendment scheme as valid, with except for certain provisions including changes regarding upper ceiling of Rs 15,000 and extending deadline for retirees who might want to join the new pension scheme. The Court exercised its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to extend the cur-off date.
Also, the Court further held invalid the provision under 2014 scheme that requires employees to make a further contribution at the rate of 1.16% on salary exceeding Rs 15000 – a call that Court said amounts to ultra vires. This part of the judgment has been kept suspended for 6 months however.
Meanwhile, the Court is yet to give its take on pension in proportion to salaries that exceed Rs 15000.
The Court further endorsed there cannot be any cut-off date for exercise of provident fund option.
The judgment came from Bench headed by Chief Justice of Inida UU Lalit and Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhansu Dhulla.
