The Supreme Court has ruled that governments cannot withhold by an administrative order pension, gratuity and leave encashment benefits from employees facing criminal or departmental probes as such benefits fall under the “right to property” the Constitution guarantees. A two-judge bench said the benefits could be withdrawn or withheld only if statutory rules provide for such steps. “It is an accepted position that gratuity and pension are not … bounties. An employee earns these benefits by dint of his long, continuous, faithful and unblemished service,” the court said, adding the “hard earned benefit” that accrues to an employee was in the nature of “property”. “This right to property cannot be taken away without the due process of law as per the provisions of Article 300A of the Constitution of India,” the court said. Article 300A says persons cannot be deprived of property “save by (the) authority of law”.
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 03:04:53 +0000
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