The Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that denying a retired employee or their family pension after retirement amounts to a violation of constitutional justice, 24NewsHD TV reported.
The court accepted an appeal filed by the widow of a deceased local government employee from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and ordered the immediate payment of all pension and retirement benefits.
In its written judgment, authored by Justice Arshad Hussain Shah, the court set aside the Peshawar High Court’s earlier order, observing that the high court had not properly examined the relevant record and law.
The case was filed by the widow of Bashir Hussain, a former employee of Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) Abbottabad.
According to the judgment, Bashir Hussain was appointed as a firefighter with the Municipal Administration, Abbottabad, in 2011 and later retired as a watchman in November 2020.
He was short of the required qualifying service for pension by 10 months and 25 days.
The Secretary of Local Government had approved a waiver of the shortfall, but the Audit Department raised an objection despite the approval of the competent authority.
Bashir Hussain died in 2021, after which his widow approached the courts seeking family pension and other retirement benefits.
The Federal Constitutional Court directed the authorities to pay the widow pension, gratuity, commutation and all outstanding dues without delay.
The court held that pension is not a concession, gift or charity, but a fundamental right of a retired employee.
It said pension is deferred compensation earned through years of an employee’s loyalty, hard work and service.
The court ruled that where pension rules allow two possible interpretations, the interpretation that is more beneficial to the employee should be adopted.