Can't have different DA hikes for staff and pensioners: Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: Observing that inflationary pressures bash not discriminate betwixt a serving worker and a pensioner, hitting the 2 equally, Supreme Court Friday held that fixing differential rates of enhancement of inflation-linked dearness benefits for the 2 categories is arbitrary and cannot beryllium allowed. A seat of Justices Manoj Misra and Prasanna B Varale disapproved of Kerala govt's determination to rise dearness allowance (DA) by 14% for authorities roadworthy transport corp employees erstwhile the dearness alleviation (DR) for its retired employees was raised by conscionable 11%. "...The Govt Order successful question increases the complaint of DA by 14% and DR by 11% adjacent though the summation is to service a communal object, which is to mitigate the hardship faced by the serving employees and pensioners connected relationship of inflation.

Indisputably, ostentation hits some serving and retired employees with adjacent force... Differentiating the 2 qua the complaint of summation of DA and DR, successful our view, has nary rational nexus to the entity sought to beryllium achieved," Justice Misra said, accepting the plea of elder advocates V Chitambaresh and Vipin Nair. The authorities had contended that serving and retired employees belonged to antithetic categories and differential rates for them did not interruption the close to equality.

Financial reasons unsocial could warrant the same, it said. The seat said, "No uncertainty a fiscal crunch mightiness beryllium a guiding origin to defer disbursement of definite benefits oregon whitethorn warrant abstracted dates for implementation of beneficial schemes. But erstwhile a determination is taken to supply definite allowances, arsenic besides to summation them ...fixing a higher complaint of summation for the ones who are serving than the ones who person retired, would beryllium arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.

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