New Delhi, September 10 (Daily Kiran) : The Supreme Court of India has taken a firm stance regarding the pension and allowances of current and former members of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly and Legislative Council. On Thursday, the court issued a notice in response to a petition filed by the organization “Lok Prahari.” The petition questions the provisions of a state law that grants salaries, allowances, pensions, and other benefits to these legislators.
A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed the Uttar Pradesh government and the principal secretaries of the Assembly and Legislative Council to respond. The petition was presented by S.N. Shukla, the general secretary of Lok Prahari, who appeared in court himself.
The next hearing is scheduled for October 9. The petition challenges several provisions of the Uttar Pradesh State Legislature (Members’ Salaries, Allowances, and Pensions) Act of 1980. It specifically addresses issues such as constituency allowances, railway coupons, travel allowances, daily allowances, loans provided to members, and pension benefits for former legislators and their families.
Lok Prahari argues that while Article 195 of the Constitution allows state legislatures to pay salaries and allowances to their members, it does not explicitly mention pensions or benefits after retirement.
In addition to seeking various forms of relief, the petition requests the court to halt pension payments to former legislators and their spouses, recover expenses made under allegedly illegal provisions, and establish an independent mechanism to recommend changes to salaries and allowances.
Previously, the Allahabad High Court dismissed a similar public interest litigation (PIL) on May 13, stating that the provisions in question fall within the legislative jurisdiction of the state assembly and do not violate any constitutional limits.
The division bench, led by Justices Rajan Roy and Avadhesh Kumar Chaudhary, noted that when reading Article 195 in conjunction with Entry 38 of List II of the Seventh Schedule, it becomes clear that state legislatures have the authority to grant various allowances to their members.
The High Court also referenced a 2018 Supreme Court ruling in the case of Lok Prahari v. Union of India, which dealt with similar challenges regarding pensions and benefits for parliament members. The court emphasized that the term “allowance” in Entry 73 of List I is broad enough to encompass pensions and other benefits for members of parliament and former members.
The argument that pensions should only be granted to government employees was also dismissed. The court highlighted that there are multiple categories of payments considered pensions, including old-age pensions, widow pensions, and disability pensions.
Furthermore, the High Court took notice of decisions from the High Courts of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, which upheld pension benefits for legislators. It concluded that determining the amount of pensions and allowances is primarily a matter of legislative policy, and courts should not intervene simply because they disagree with the underlying policy.
The High Court stated, “Determining the amount of benefits falls entirely within the jurisdiction of the legislature.” It added that judicial review in such matters can only occur in cases of clear arbitrariness, unfairness, or blatant constitutional violations. Given that the challenge was mainly based on policy disagreement rather than demonstrable constitutional flaws, the High Court dismissed the public interest petition.
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