Pension Must Be Calculated Based on Actual Last Pay Drawn as Verified in the Service Book

The petitioner was appointed as an Assistant Teacher in 1992 and subsequently promoted to the post of Principal on 26.12.2013

Her Last Pay Certificate (LPC) and Service Book indicated a last pay drawn of Rs. 70,000/- as of 01.07.2019

However, the Director (Primary Education) issued a sanction order for pension based on a lower pay scale of Rs. 53,600/-, resulting in a Pension Payment Order (PPO) that disregarded the petitioner’s actual last pay drawn

The petitioner approached the High Court seeking rectification of the pension and post-retiral benefits

1. Whether the respondent authorities arbitrarily fixed the petitioner's pension based on a pay scale lower than the actual last pay drawn recorded in her service records

2. Whether the petitioner is entitled to a revision of the sanction order and PPO in accordance with her actual last pay of Rs. 70,000/-

The court's intervention is grounded in the principle that pensionary benefits must be calculated based on the "last pay drawn" as recorded in the service book and verified pay statements

The court referred to the Education Department Resolution No. 3590 dated 24.05.2017, which governs the verification of pay for retiral benefits

It further relied on the procedural obligation of the Accountant General to act upon revised sanctions issued by the administrative department to ensure the correct disbursement of statutory retiral dues

The Court observed that there was a prima facie discrepancy between the petitioner’s service records and the pension sanction order. While Annexure 3/1 and the statement of verification of pay clearly established the last pay drawn as Rs. 70,000/-, the Director (Primary Education) arbitrarily used Rs. 53,600/- for pension fixation

The Court noted that the Accountant General’s office had already requested the Respondent No. 2 to investigate the matter and send a proper sanction

The Court reasoned that since the promotion and the consequent pay hike were not in dispute, the pension must reflect the actual salary at the time of retirement to prevent financial prejudice to the superannuated employee

The Court ordered that a revised sanction order be issued within four weeks of receipt of the judgment

Furthermore, the Accountant General, Bihar, was directed to act upon the revised sanction and issue a fresh PPO in favor of the petitioner

Case disposed of with these directions