EOBI pension cannot be granted without fulfilling legal requirements: FCCP

ISLAMABAD  –   The Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan (FCCP) has ruled that a person who does not meet the mandatory legal requirements for pension cannot be directed to receive the benefit, and that a dispute over a legal entitlement cannot be brought within the jurisdiction of the Federal Ombudsman merely by describing it as maladministration.

A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan, allowed an appeal filed by the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI), setting aside a judgment of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) as well as orders passed by the Federal Ombudsman and the President of Pakistan directing the institution to pay pension to the respondent.

Rs 2.75m Italy work visa fraud: FIA puts suspect behind bars

Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan authored the 12-page written order, while Umar Ejaz Gilani appeared on behalf of the petitioner.

The FCCP held that the Federal Ombudsman could not bypass the specific statutory mechanism for determining eligibility for pension. It observed that rejection of a pension claim, by itself, did not constitute maladministration, which required circumstances such as arbitrariness, discrimination, negligence or unjustified delay.

The written order said that where an applicant suffered a loss because an institution complied with mandatory legal requirements, such compliance could not be treated as maladministration. A mandatory statutory condition for eligibility could not be waived on the grounds of compassion or general notions of justice, it added.

The court observed that under the law governing EOBI, entitlement to pension generally requires at least 15 years of contributions. It noted that the special concession allowing pension on the basis of five years of contributions did not apply to insured employees covered on or after July 1, 2008.

According to the order, Javed Iqbal Bhatti had less than six years of insured employment and was therefore not entitled to pension. The Old-Age Grant of Rs48,000 already paid to him did not create an entitlement to pension, the court held.

Hospitality purest form of human diplomacy: Misbah Khar

The court further observed that eligibility for benefits, as well as their amount and duration, was to be determined under Section 33 of the EOBI law, which also provided a mechanism for review and appeal against such decisions.

The written order further held that an order passed without jurisdiction could not acquire legal validity merely because it had subsequently been endorsed by the President or a court. It said recording reasons for a decision was not a mere formality but an essential requirement for establishing its legal basis.

Court sentences 3 men to death for killing rival in Kotli Sattian

The FCCP concluded that a dispute concerning a statutory legal entitlement could not be brought within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction simply by labelling the matter as maladministration.

NIPCO House, 4 – Shaharah e Fatima Jinnah,

Tel: +92 42 36367580    |     Fax : +92 42 36367005