The Supreme Court Monday took cognizance of a letter written to Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud by some former employees of the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court that despite the lapse of three to seven years their pensionary dues have not been settled.
A bench comprising the CJI and justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala took suo motu (on its own) cognizance of the letter and turned it into a petition while issuing notices to the state governments of Maharashtra and the Goa and the Registrar General of the Bombay High Court.
The bench, which appointed lawyer Mahfooz Nazki as amicus curiae to assist it, noted one of the former employees of the Goa bench had committed suicide due to non-settlement of the pensionary dues.
Apparently, the two states do not want to come forward to settle the grievances of the former employees of the high court, the bench orally observed.
A branch of the Bombay high court is located in Goa which does not have a separate high court.
The grievance of the employees is that they are receiving only provisional pension even after three to seven years of their retirement.
“Notice shall be issued to the Registrar General of the High Court of Bombay returnable in two weeks. The registry shall also cause a copy of the present order together with the underlying communication of the employees to be served on the standing counsels for the States of Maharashtra and Goa,” the bench ordered.
