I think it should be possible to accept the pension under protest on the ground that you do not have any other means of livelihood, since now you have lost the salary also. You may undertake to repay the pension amount if you win the appeal against compulsory retirement. Even otherwise, merely because you file the appeal against the punishment of compulsory retirement, in the absence of a stay order, the department has to process the pension payment as per its own order of compulsory retirement. The department cannot deprive you of the pension if it due under the rules, as per its own order since the punishment imposed is not dismissal or removal but compulsory retirement wherein pension is admissible.
You have a right to challenge the penalty before the appellate authority or in the appropriate court or tribunal, as the case may be. That right cannot be taken away just because you are accepting the pension under protest.
Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.
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