Retirement Benefits Cannot Be Withheld Due to Closed FIR or Pending Crime Branch Clearance: J-k High Court

Retirement Benefits Cannot Be Withheld Due to Closed FIR or Pending Crime Branch Clearance: J-k High Court

VoM News Desk | June 18, 2025 | 07:41 PM IST | Breaking News, Courts & Law, Jammu Kashmir | Follow on Google News

Retirement Benefits Cannot Be Withheld Due to Closed FIR or Pending Crime Branch Clearance: J-k High Court

Jammu, June 2025 — In a landmark ruling, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has clarified that retirement dues cannot be denied simply on the basis of pending clearance from the Crime Branch, especially when the First Information Report (FIR) in question has already been marked as “not proved.”

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The court emphasized that even if an FIR is under investigation, it does not qualify as a “judicial proceeding” and therefore, cannot be cited as grounds for withholding retiral benefits.

The judgement came in response to a petition filed by Prem Kumar, a former storekeeper in the Jammu and Kashmir Cooperative Supply and Marketing Federation Ltd. (JAKFED), who retired in 2011. He was implicated in an FIR back in 1995, concerning alleged misappropriation of food grains. However, the investigation was later closed by the Vigilance Organisation, with approval from the Commissioner of Vigilance, and the Anti-Corruption Court accepted the closure report.

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Years later, in 2019, the J&K government began the process of winding up JAKFED. A liquidator was appointed to evaluate assets and liabilities and to clear dues owed to former employees. Rather than disbursing Kumar’s retirement benefits, the liquidator issued a public notice claiming that he owed nearly ₹4 lakh to the federation.

In response, Kumar produced a ‘no dues’ certificate and outlined that his pending claims amounted to approximately ₹8.4 lakh. With no action taken by the authorities, he filed a writ petition before the High Court seeking release of his benefits.

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Advocate Shivani Jalali, appearing for the petitioner, argued that withholding retirement dues in such circumstances was unjustified. Justice Rajesh Sekhri, after hearing the arguments, ruled that pending FIR investigations — particularly when no charges are proven — do not constitute judicial proceedings and therefore cannot serve as a reason to delay or deny financial entitlements of a retired employee.

The Court further noted that the Union Territory administration had already issued a policy decision in July 2023 to settle all outstanding claims of former JAKFED employees. It also observed that requiring clearance from the Crime Branch was not a legal prerequisite for disbursing retirement benefits.

With these findings, the court directed that all pending retirement dues be released to Prem Kumar, along with applicable interest

(Reference From Daily Excelsior)

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