The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed some 800 petitions from Punjab pensioners after the state government said it was ready to review the 15-year period for restoration of pension in the case of those who had opted for switching.

Pension conversion refers to a lump sum payment received by an employee upon retirement in replacement of part of the pension voluntarily surrendered.

The complaints came from state pensioners, who were seeking to reinstate their actuarial pension after a period of approximately 12 years, arguing that the current 15-year period was arbitrary and unjustified.

An employee who opts for this plan can receive 40% of the amount of their pension upon retirement. The amount of the discounted part of the pension will be recovered in approximately 11.5 years, in approximately 135 installments, with interest, while the State recovers this amount over a period of 15 years in 180 installments, according to the petitioners.

“The State recovers the amount at an exorbitant rate, beyond the amount of the actuarial pension, which is unacceptable because there can be no undue enrichment on the part of the State,” they argued.

As per the discussions, the 5th Central Pay Commission recommended in January 1997 that central government employees may be allowed to convert up to 40% of their pension and the buy-back period should be kept at 15 years. The Punjab government adopted the same measure in its entirety in May 1998. Since then, it has remained unchanged.

Justice Lisa Gill and Justice Sukhvinder Kaur of the High Court observed that having enjoyed a benefit which is clearly voluntary in nature, it is not open to the petitioners to raise grievances, at this stage, seeking relief. modification of the conditions and conditions accepted by them “with open eyes”.

“The applicants’ lawyers have not been able to point to any element in the record indicating that the formula adopted is per se and ex-facie irrational or arbitrary, which calls for interference on the part of this court,” he said. he recorded, dismissing the pleas.

The court said the stay orders, if a petition is passed, would stand set aside and the government could proceed with recovery from the pensioners. This restoration must, however, be carried out in a staggered manner to avoid any difficulty for retirees, he ordered.