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AP High Court tells EPFO to reconsider pension pleas
The Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed the EPFO to reconsider pension claims of retired employees of Sangam Dairy, ruling that workers cannot be penalised for employer record-keeping failures. Justice Venkateswarlu Nimmagadda…
The Story in Brief
The Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed the EPFO to reconsider pension claims of retired employees of Sangam Dairy, ruling that workers cannot be penalised for employer record-keeping failures. Justice Venkateswarlu Nimmagadda held that rejecting claims solely for missing Form 6A, challans, or other employer documents is arbitrary, especially for periods before 2010.
The court remanded the applications for fresh verification and said the EPFO must examine all available records. It declared the rejection of Joint Option applications violative of Articles 14 and 21. The employees, unaware of the 2014 pension scheme amendment, had sought higher pension on actual salaries.
The Indian Opinion
The court's pushback on mechanical rejections is welcome, but the bigger issue is EPFO's habit of treating pension claims as a paperwork puzzle. Officials demand documents they already hold, and retirees end up in court. The agency must use its own records and apply a simple test: if provident fund contributions were made on higher wages, pension should follow. The next step is whether EPFO obeys this order or appeals to stall.
Sources (2): livelaw.in, timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
