PROVINCE OF PUNJAB through Secretary, Finance Department, Civil Secretariat, Lahore vs ATTA MUHAMMAD ZAFAR Pen

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PROVINCE OF PUNJAB through Secretary, Finance Department, Civil Secretariat, Lahore VS ATTA MUHAMMAD ZAFAR Pension ---Voluntary opting for revised pay and pension package---Estoppel from claiming additional benefits granted to those who had not opted for the revised package---Both the employees in question opted for revised 2001 package/scheme and their pensions were accordingly calculated on the basis of revised pay scales which admittedly came. into effect from 1.12.2001 while they had retired on 30.11.2001---Said employees in essence requested and opted that the date of their retirement be treated as 1.12.2001 so that they may be able to avail the benefit of the policy of 2001 and hence the better financial package that it provided---Employees continued to receive salaries and periodical increases in pension granted to those who were governed by the 2001 package, however, when the two notifications in question, dealing with pension, were issued, the same envisaged an increase @ 20% for those retiring on or before 30.11.2001 and 15% for those who retired on or after 1.12.2001---Employees in question had opted for the revised package of 2001 and had been treated as per their own option, freely exercised, as having presumptively retired on or before 1.12.2001---Much after issuance of the notifications, employees wished to claim 20% increase in their pensions asserting that their date of retirement may again be treated as 30.11.2001 which was not justified for the reason that they had already availed the benefit of the presumptive provisions of 2001 package whereby they were treated as having retired with effect from 1.12.2001---Having availed the said benefit continuously till issuance of the notifications they were estopped from claiming that they may be treated differently this time by treating their date of retirement as 30.11.2001 so that they could avail an additional benefit which was not due to them and was not given to any other employee---Employees having voluntarily opted to be governed under the pay and pension package of 2001 effective from 1.12.2001 could not be given an additional benefit which was intended to bring those who had retired on or before 30-11-2001 and were being governed by the 1994 package at par with those who had opted for the 2001 package--- Employees were entitled to increase in their pension only to the extent @ 15% pursuant to the notifications---Appeal and petition for leave to appeal were disposed of accordingly.

PROVINCE OF PUNJAB through Secretary, Finance Department, Civil Secretariat, Lahore vs ATTA MUHAMMAD ZAFAR Pension — 2021 SCMR 1195 SUPREME-COURT

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