Madras High Court: Settle dues of retired government transport staff by January 12

CHENNAI: A Division Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the State government to settle amounts due to retired employees of various government transport corporations before January 12.
The Bench of Justices S Manikumar and M Govindaraj said it was true that the State government was facing financial difficulties.

But considering the grievance of the retired employees who had been paid their legitimate dues belatedly and beyond the period fixed by the court on earlier occasions, the government should pay the deficit of `204 crore to them. Disbursal of dues shall be completed by January 12, the Bench said.

Earlier, Advocate-General N Vijay Narayan told the judges that the State was in a bad financial situation. It has taken on itself the commitment of `10,032 crore over and above the budget estimates for 2017-18, he added.

Originally, Madurai-based retired TNSTC employee R Mayandi Servai (82) had sent a post card to another Bench of Justices M V Muralidaran and N Seshasayee, when they were sitting at the vacation bench in Madurai on May 16 last. He claimed that the benefits due to him had not been settled even after 24 years of his retirement. There were hundreds of similarly placed employees.

Taking a serious note of the post card, Justice Muralidaran had directed the HC registry to treat it as a suo-motu PIL petition. Thereafter, the case was transferred to the principal seat of the Madras High Court and posted before the present Bench headed by Justice Manikumar.