Gurugram: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on itself and the Punjab government for the undue delay in releasing pensionary benefits to the widow of a former judicial officer.
The bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sudhir Singh was critical of the administration for delaying the benefits—despite a Supreme Court order—to Pritam Kaur, the widow of civil judge (senior division) Gurnam Singh Sewak.
Kaur had petitioned seeking the release of her late husband’s pension, gratuity, and other retiral benefits, which had been withheld for years due to prolonged departmental inquiries and administrative delays.
Her husband was dismissed from service in 2001 after a departmental inquiry. However, in 2018, the high court set aside the dismissal, making him eligible for pension post superannuation from 1999 onwards.
Despite the Supreme Court upholding the HC’s decision in 2019, the pension was not released until 2024, prompting Kaur to file a writ petition against the state of Punjab and the high court administration.
The high court, on 7 March, strongly criticised the delay in granting pensionary benefits, noting that the dismissal order was quashed in 2018, yet neither regular pension nor provisional pension was granted for years.
“The pension should have been released immediately after the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal in 2019, but it took another five years. Even after Gurnam Singh Sewak’s death in 2021, his widow was left waiting for family pension, which was eventually sanctioned only in March 2024,” the court noted.
Calling the situation a “sorry state of affairs”, the court ruled that the prolonged delay was unjustified and against legal principles.
The HC issued directions that the pension arrears from 1999 to 2021 and family pension arrears from 2021 onwards are to be paid with 10 percent annual interest.
A penalty of Rs 25,000 was imposed on the high court for failing to process the pension on time. The court left it to the administration to decide who would bear the cost. Besides this, the delayed gratuity payment must also carry a 10 percent interest until the full amount is disbursed.
The high court ruled that Kaur is allowed to apply for retrospective promotion benefits, which must be considered on merit without being rejected on grounds of limitation.
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
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