THE commuted portion of the pension of civil servants which is 50 per cent is restored after 15 years of retirement.
Pensioners who avail themselves of this restoration are 75 years of age by that time.
However, the restored portion of the pension does not include the annual increases allowed for non-commuted portion during the 15 years.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan dismissed a petition of the Deputy Accountant General Pakistan Revenues, Lahore versus A.A.Zuberi and Abrar Hussain Naqvi in CP No2393 of 2010 and CP No.2394 of 2010, thus leaving open the judgment of the Division Bench of Lahore High Court comprising Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali and Justice Syed Manzoor Ali Shah vide ICA No.118/09 and ICA No.215/09.
The judgement stipulated that `the restoration of pension means the pension due to a retired civil servant in that year inclusive of all the increments till that time (i.e.) accumulated over the last 15 years in this case. In other words it would simply be double of the amount of the 50 percent that the respondents are already drawing.
Since then, two respondents have already drawn the full pension arrears in the light of the above judgement. However, the same principle has been denied to be applied to other pensioners by the AGPR. They have been advised by the Finance Division (Regulation Wing) that the above judgement appears to be in person specific and cannot be extended to other employees.
The Supreme Court is requested to kindly take suo motu notice of the case under Article 184(3) of the Constitution as the matter concerns the application of a fundamental right of Article 25 that enshrines equality before law and equality of law for all citizens. Moreover, as the judgement court is in rem, it may be treated as such in equality, and fair play, to old pensioners. I am also a pensioner who is 85 years of age.
