Kerala HC stays deduction of amount from EPFO higher pension

The Kerala High Court has stayed the recovery of amount from the higher pension of a retired employee of the Kerala Mineral and Metals Limited (KMML), Chavara, Kollam by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The court passed the interim order on a writ petition filed by M.D. Bhasakaran Nair of Alappuzha. The EPFO had been deducting ₹8,000 from his higher pension amount of ₹27,000. The pensions had been calculated on the basis of the last 12 months salary. Later, the EPFO had calculated the pensions based on the average salary of the last five years and started deducting ₹8,000 from the pension amount. According to the petitioner, the recovery was unauthorised and illegal.