The Madras High Court bench in Madurai on Friday ordered notice to the Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Finance (Pension) Department and the Director of Elementary Education on a petition filed by a teacher challenging the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, 1978 and Rule 4 of Tamil Nadu General Provident Fund Rules.
The petitioner, P. Frederic Engels, a secondary grade teacher of the Panchayat Union Middle School in R. Kombai, Dindigul district, claimed in his petition that provisions such as Rule 2 of the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, 1978 and Sub-Rule 3 of Rule 4 of the Tamil Nadu General Provident Fund Rules deprived him of retirement benefits such as pension, family pension, gratuity and provident fund. According to the petitioner, 10 per cent of his salary was deducted towards the contributory pension scheme. A total of Rs 46,830 was being deducted from his salary throughout his service, Mr Engels claimed.
“The action of the government amounts to fraud on the Constitution of India. The right of the employees to receive pension (after retirement) has been extinguished because of the contributory pension scheme”, the petitioner alleged.
