Court attaches one-third salary of Punjabi University Registrar

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered to attach the one-third salary of Sanjiv Puri, Registrar of Punjabi University Patiala, while taking cognisance of yet another petition filed by the Punjabi University Retired Teachers Association (PURTA) for failing to release retiral benefits.

The retired teaching faculty association members, a majority of whom are octogenarians, had approached the HC for the release of the pension on the due date every month as the payment was delayed for months.

Finally, the case was decided in July last year and directions were issued to the university to release the pension of teaching faculty with 6 per cent interest. Jagbir Singh, chairman, Joint Action Committee for Pensioners, said, “The authorities never bothered to honour the court’s verdict.”

The retired teaching faculty again approached the high court. In a fresh order, the court stated, “In such circumstances, it is apparent that without any reason and justification, the respondents are trying to delay the disbursal of retiral benefits and are not coming to the court with a fair stand. Accordingly, the salary of the respondent to the extent of 1/3rd shall remain attached till further orders,” read the orders.

Meanwhile, Jagbir Singh condemned of the Registrar’s “unbridled tendency to repeatedly go against the law to disregard not only the retired faculty’s rights but also the reputation of the university”.

Punjabi University Retired Teachers’ Association (PURTA) was established by retired teachers in 2020 as the university was not paying pension to the retirees.

Punjab