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NON-REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

Civil Appeal  No(s).  7757 OF 2003 (Arising out of SLP(C)No.18705 of 2016)

ORIENTAL BANK OF COMMERCE AND ORS.            Appellant(s)

                               VERSUS

JANAK RAJ SHARMA                                  Respondent(s)

J U D G M E N T

A.S. BOPANNA, J.:

Leave granted.

(2) The  respondent  was  working  as  a  Senior  Manager  in

appellants-Bank.  He took voluntary retirement on 15.01.2001.

On  23.08.2010,  the  appellants-Bank  issued  circular  granting

opportunity to the employees who were in service of the Bank

prior to 29.09.1995 and had retired after the date but prior

to 27.04.2010 to opt for the pension scheme.  The circular had

a  last  date  of  application  which  was  25.10.2010  but  the

respondents  got  to  know  about  the  said  circular  only  on

18.11.2010.  He applied for the same.  His application was

rejected  by  the  appellants-Bank  on  the  account  of  late

submission  of  the  application.   Being  aggrieved  by  such

rejection,  respondent  filed  writ  petition  before  the  High

Court.

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(3) The  learned  Single  Judge  vide  order  dated  04.09.2015

allowed C.W.P. NO.9855 of 2012 filed by the respondent relying

on the judgment passed by the Bombay High Court in the case of

Kayoji  Sorabji  Mirza v.  UBI  &  Ors. and  held  that  the

respondent was being abroad at that time had no knowledge of

the circular dated 23.08.2010.  Therefore, the rejection of

the application of the respondent filed after the cut-off date

is held not justified keeping in mind the facts of the case.

Being  aggrieved,  the  appellants-Bank  filed  LPA  before  the

Division Bench.

(4) The Division Bench vide order dated 30.09.2015 dismissed

the LPA filed by the appellants-Bank on the ground that the

respondent exercised his option under the pension scheme after

he returned from abroad as he was not aware of the circular

until he was abroad.  

(5) In  that  background,  the  appellants-Bank  is  before  this

Court  assailing  the  order  dated  06.04.2016  passed  by  the

Division  Bench  of  the  High  Court  of  Punjab  and  Haryana  at

Chandigarh in LPA NO.1465 of 2015.  Through the said order the

Division Bench of the High Court has upheld the order passed by

the learned Single Judge whereby a direction had been issued to

the  appellants-Bank  to  accept  the  option  exercised  by  the

respondent herein under the Pension Scheme and pay him the

pension as per the Scheme governing the same.

(6) We have heard Mr. Jagat Arora, learned counsel appearing

for the appellants-Bank and Mr. Snehasish Mukherjee, learned

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counsel  appearing  for  the  respondent  and  also  perused  the

impugned judgment and the materials on record.

(7) Though the contentions have been urged on merits by Mr.

Jagat Arora, learned counsel appearing for the appellants-Bank,

to justify the action we do not find it necessary to advert to

the details of the said aspect since the fact that the cut-off

date had been fixed by the appellants-Bank to exercise the

option  is  undisputed.   The  same  is  in  consonance  with  the

scheme  which  has  been  floated  by  all  public  sector  banks

whereby the date for opting for the pension scheme is provided

thereunder.  The option had been given to the officers who had

retired prior to the said date to exercise the said option

subject to conditions imposed.

(8) In  the  present  circumstance,  the  option  was  to  be

exercised by the respondent herein prior to 25.10.2010.  The

respondent had contended that he could not exercise such option

as  he  was  abroad  during  the  relevant  point  of  time  from

24.11.2009 and did not know the extension of the scheme and

time granted by the appellants-Bank as he returned only on

18.11.2010, after the cut-off date.

(9) In the normal circumstance when a publication of the cut-

off date was made while introducing the scheme, it would be

appropriate to hold that the option should have been exercised

within the last date as prescribed as otherwise there would not

be finality.  We uphold the Pension Scheme 2010 and with cut-ff

date for exercising option as on 25.10.2010.

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(10) However,  considering  the  fact  that  the  respondent  had

rendered  long  period  of  service  to  the  appellants-Bank  and

keeping in view that in exceptional circumstance the learned

Single Judge as well as the Division Bench of the High Court

had directed the appellants-Bank to accept the option exercised

by the respondent herein, we are not inclined to interfere with

the impugned order.  However, we reiterate and make it clear

that such direction issued is in the exceptional circumstance

keeping in view the facts involved in the instant case and the

same shall not be treated as a precedent in any other case.  It

is also made clear that in respect of the said Pension Scheme

if  any  other  matter  is  pending  before  any  other  Court  in

respect of the appellant-Bank herein or other public sector

banks, the direction as approved in the instant appeal shall

not be treated as a precedent in such cases and the said cases

shall be dealt with independently on its own merits.

(11) In the said circumstance, we approve the order passed by

the High Court limited to the facts of the present case subject

to  the  respondent  herein  returning  the  provident  fund

contribution already paid to him in the year 2001 along with

interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of voluntary

retirement scheme i.e. 16.01.2001 till the cut-off date i.e.

25.10.2010 as per the second pension option scheme in terms of

the scheme within fifteen days from today.  The appellants-Bank

shall process the request of the respondent herein for payment

of pension and pay the pension any benefit dues within a period

of sixty days from the date of receipt of request as well as

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the refund of provident fund contribution, as stated above.

The payment of pension to the respondent shall be with effect

from the date of the order passed by the learned Single Judge

i.e. 04.09.2015.  It is made clear that in respect of payment

of the pension which is ordered from 04.09.2015 till the date

of receipt, the respondent would not be entitled to claim any

interest on the said amount.

(12)  The appeal is accordingly disposed of.

..........................J.                 (R. BANUMATHI)

..........................J.         (A.S. BOPANNA)

..........................J.         (HRISHIKESH ROY)

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 01, 2019.