Punjab and Haryana High Court upholds retiring employees' right to notional increment
Chandigarh, April 11: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has delivered a significant ruling in favour of Punjab government employees, stating that "the state government cannot withhold the notional increment from employees upon retirement". In its decision, a Double Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld an earlier ruling by a Single Bench, which stated that Punjab Government employees, who complete one year of service on their retirement day, are entitled to receive their annual increment, typically granted on the 1st of the month. The Punjab Government had appealed against the Single Bench's decision, contending that employees retiring on any day other than the 1st of the month should not receive the increment as their service year would be considered incomplete. However, the Double Bench dismissed the government's appeal and ruled in favour of the employees. Advocate Geetanjali Chhabra, who represented the employees, said, "During an employee's tenure, they receive annual increments as a regular part of their compensation. Despite this, the Punjab Government had earlier denied the final increment on the grounds that the service year would be completed a day after retirement". With this ruling, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has affirmed the right of retiring employees to receive their notional increment on their last day of service, thereby ensuring that the Punjab Government cannot deny this benefit to its retiring employees.
- With inputs from our correspondent
