MESSAGE IS CLEAR
" ...Sri Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister wanted that all obsolete laws should be scrapped. Taking advantage of the direction some officers moved to scrap the very important Indian Pension Act 1871 which gave the workers the Statutory Pension and protection against attachment of pension by some court cases etc.
The government had almost decided to axe the 145-year-old Pension Act. But at a meeting held on April 28, several ministries disagreed with the move. This led the government to consider doing away with some of the “irrelevant or redundant” provisions of the Pensions Act, 1871 instead of repealing it. The final decision will now be made by Prime Minister Modi, who heads the pensions department of the personnel ministry. The government has so far repealed 125 archaic laws.
It has proposed to scrap over 1,000 more such laws. The representative of the Department of Financial Services (DoFS) said at the meeting that the Pensions Act is applicable to pensions under a large number of rules and Acts of Parliament. “He specifically mentioned that pensions of the President, Vice President, Ministers and MPs are regulated by Acts of Parliament.
Similarly, pensions of Supreme Court/high court judges, central vigilance commissioners, central information commissioners and members of UPSC are also granted under Acts regulating their service conditions. These Acts of Parliament do not contain provisions securing the pension against attachment,” the minutes recorded.
Only Section 11 of the Pensions Act provides this protection to the constitutional authorities. When the pensions department proposed that the rules regulating various types of pension be amended to secure the pension and hence facilitate repealing of the Pensions Act, all ministries raised objections.
The home ministry “expressed apprehension” that the protection against attachment by courts, if provided in rules, “may not be as effective” as that provided in an Act of Parliament.
The rural development department concurred, saying all social security pensions administered by it are through executive orders and any provisions for security against attachment by court “may not be effective” as the provisions will not have any statutory backing.
The ministries of environment, culture and external affairs, and the departments of telecom, expenditure and posts said they do not even administer any separate pension rules.
ANYWAY THE PENSION ACT MAY NOT BE SCRAPPED IMMEDIATELY. BUT THE MESSAGE IS CLEAR. THERE CAN BE AN ATTACK ON THE STATUTORY PENSION. THE MANMOHAN SINGH GOVERNMENT INTRODUCED NEW PENSION SCHEME BUT DID NOT SCRAP THE EXISTING ACT.
NOW THE QUESTIONS ARE:
1. WILL THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT SCRAP THE INDIAN PENSION ACT?
2. IF THEY DO IT HOW IT WILL BE DONE?
3. WHAT WILL BE THE PROTECTION OF PENSION?
WE HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE THE DEVELOPMENTS.
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