RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh High Court has reprimanded the Chief Protection Commissioner of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), South East Central Railway (SECR), for not complying with its order regarding the release of retiral dues of an RPF employee who was given compulsory retirement 17 years ago. The court has directed the commissioner to appear before it on May 5, 2023, for further hearing.
High Court Judge Justice Rakesh Mohan Pandey stated that the court had issued an order on September 1, 2022, which mandated that if the pensionary benefits were not granted to the petitioner by the next date of hearing, the concerned officer should appear before the court during the writ petition hearing, filed by counsel Abhishek Pandey.
The counsel submitted to the court that the petitioner, Ramavatar Ram, a resident of Kasimbandh, Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, was posted as a constable in the RPF Raipur and was compulsorily retired from his services by an order dated May 30, 2005, issued by the RPF divisional commissioner. However, the amount of gratuity, leave encashment, GPF, GIS, and arrears of pay scale have not been released to date. The compulsory retirement was given on the grounds that the constable was not regular in his service.
The counsel argued that the petitioner, who had joined the RPF in 1979, used to take leave due to some family issues and thus was given premature retirement. The counsel contended that the petitioner is eligible for retiral benefits despite his compulsory retirement as he had served the RPF for 26 years. However, the petitioner has been deprived of the benefits for the last 17 years since his retirement in 2005, stated the counsel.
In February 2022, the High Court issued a notice seeking a reply on the matter, but the respondent neither responded nor provided relief to the petitioner. Expressing displeasure over the respondent's approach, the High Court has directed the Chief Protection Commissioner to appear in court on May 5.
