Pensioner wins fight for delayed dues

CHENNAI: Highlighting the plight of pensioners denied dues because of the indifference of bank officials’, S S Radhakrishnan, 64, has won a favourable order from the District Consumer Disputes’ Redressal Forum.
A bench of V Gopal, president, and L Deenadayalan, member, has ordered Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) to pay interest at the rate applicable to credit card loans (of 24%) on the enhanced pension amount which was belatedly paid and a compensation of 10,000.
In his complaint, Radhakrishnan of Besant Nagar said his pension was credited to the account he held with an IOB branch in his locality. His pension was revised from 6,021 to 13,609 with effect from January 1, 2006 as per a resolution of the Union government.
A subsequent memorandum from the department said 40% of the arrears would have to be paid by September 30, 2008 while the remaining would be done in 2009-10. However, Radhakrishnan said the arrears of 30,761 were credited after a delay of 14 days on October 14, 2008 instead. Though the Union government had issued a similar memorandum that the second installment of arrears be credited before November 30, 2008, this was done only in May 2009 — after a delay of 152 days. The amount due in this case was 1,05,342. Finding strength in Radhakrishnan’s contentions, the bench ruled that the delay in crediting the revised pension arrears amounted to deficiency in service.
Allowing the complaint, the bench directed bank authorities to pay interest at the rate applicable to credit card loans for 30,761 from October 1 to October 14, 2008 and also for 1,05,342 from December 1, 2008 to May 2, 2009. The bench also directed that Radhakrishnan be paid 10,000 as compensation for mental agony and 3,000 as cost of the complaint.
“I have got my money. There are officials from several banks who are not doing their job even now. Retired people may not know they are not getting their rightful dues because to the indifference of bank staff. Lakhs of pensioners might benefit from this judgment,” Radhakrishnan said.