In Brief
Syndicate Bank, an employee's former employer, challenged a High Court order permitting the dismissed employee N.R. Bhat to claim pension benefits after a settlement was reached. The employee was hired in 1969, dismissed in 1997, but that dismissal was set aside in 2005 by the High Court. In 2019, the parties settled their dispute by reducing rather than dismissing him, and the settlement allowed the employee to opt for pension. The Supreme Court held that having missed two earlier opportunities to join the pension scheme (1995 and 2010), the employee could not claim it in 2019 after settling. However, the Court found the bank unlawfully delayed implementing the agreed settlement and directed it to pay the settlement amount plus 12% simple interest annually from July 2019 onwards, rising to 15% if not paid within four weeks."
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