Judgment Regarding Pensionary Benefits of Telecom Employees
PLJ 2013 · Islamabad High Court
This case involved pensioners who had worked for Pakistan's Telephone and Telegraph Department before it was reorganized into Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation/PTCL. Their pension rights had been protected by the Pakistan Telecommunication Act 1991 and the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act 1996, which guaranteed that their service terms, including pensionary benefits, could not be altered. The dispute arose when authorities issued notifications and letters restricting pension increases and medical allowances, splitting pensioners into different categories with different increase percentages, instead of granting increases uniformly as the Government had done in the past. The pensioners argued this violated their protected rights and the relevant pension fund rules, which stated that pension increases should match whatever the Federal Government granted its own employees.
The Islamabad High Court agreed with the pensioners. It held that the terms and conditions of these employees, including pension benefits, were guaranteed by the Federal Government under the 1996 Act, and neither PTCL nor the Board of Trustees managing the pension fund could unilaterally alter or reduce these benefits without the employees' consent. The Court ruled that the notifications reducing or restricting pension increases were issued illegally, were inequitable, and violated the 1996 Act. It also clarified that draft rules could be challenged in the High Court's constitutional jurisdiction, and that pensioners, as beneficiaries, could properly approach the High Court for relief. The petitions were accepted, protecting the pens
یہ مقدمہ ان پنشنرز سے متعلق تھا جنہوں نے پاکستان کے ٹیلی فون اینڈ ٹیلی گراف ڈیپارٹمنٹ میں ملازمت کی تھی، اس سے پہلے کہ اسے پاکستان ٹیلی کمیونیکیشن کارپوریشن/پی ٹی سی ایل میں تبدیل کیا جاتا۔ ان کے پنشن کے حقوق کو پاکستان ٹیلی کمیونیکیشن ایکٹ 1991 اور پاکستان ٹیلی کمیونیکیشن (ری آرگنائزیشن) ایکٹ 1996 کے تحت تحفظ حاصل تھا، جن کی رو سے ان کی ملازمت کی شرائط، بشمول پنشن کے فوائد، میں کوئی تبدیلی نہیں کی جا سکتی تھی۔ تنازعہ اس وقت پیدا ہوا جب حکام نے ایسے نوٹیفیکیشنز اور خطوط جاری کیے جن کے ذریعے پنشن میں اضافے اور میڈیکل الاؤنس کو محدود کیا گیا، اور پنشنرز کو مختلف زمروں میں تقسیم کر کے ان پر مختلف فیصد کے اضافے کا اطلاق کیا گیا، جبکہ حکومت ماضی میں یکساں طور پر اضافہ کرتی رہی تھی۔ پنشنرز کا مؤقف تھا کہ ی