The Karnataka High Court recently directed the state government and Rani Chanamma University in Belagavi to release all financial benefits and pension due to a retired college professor while taking a dim view of the delay in the payment.
The order was passed by a bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna earlier this month. It was reserved in February.
The petitioner, M A Dhavaleshwar, was a professor at Sangolli Rayanna College since 1982, which later became a constituent of Rani Chanamma University. He retired in 2015 but he was not paid the benefits. Dhavaleshwar, 70, said the university did pay the money despite a government direction, raising concerns about complications at the time of the audit.
He then approached the High Court in 2020, which directed the university to release the benefits. However, he did not receive the benefits despite the court order, and contempt proceedings were also initiated which were later closed.
The professor’s counsel argued that merely because he was a professor for the last three years of his career, he had not been paid over the question of whom the pension was to be paid. The counsel also said nominal payments were made with the substantial part remaining merely to comply with contempt proceedings.
The court stated, “It is un-understandable as to why the petitioner, despite working for 34 years, has not been paid a complete pension as also leave encashment and gratuity amounts. The State wants to play with the life of the petitioner. The petitioner is now 70 years old having retired 10 years ago and has been fighting for a grant of his terminal benefits for close to 6 years up to the date on which this Court would pass orders and now again, for grant of appropriate terminal benefits in full. The prayer is clear that he has to get close to Rs 30 lakh as terminal benefits… In these indecisive communications between the quarters of the Government and the University… the poor teacher is running from pillar to post to get his terminal benefits.”
The court added that the likelihood of objections in the audit was no reason not to have made the payment. The court ordered the Karnataka Government and the university to pay the amount within four weeks at six per cent interest from the day the petition was filed. Failing this, the amount would be calculated at 9 per cent from the date of the professor’s retirement along with a daily penalty of Rs 1000, said the court.
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