The Punjab and Haryana High Court has upheld the withdrawal of the 2005 Cooperative Bank Employees Pension Scheme, ruling that cooperative banks are not “State” under the Constitution and cannot impose unsustainable liabilities on shareholders, mostly small farmers, media reports say.
Justice Harpreet Singh Brar dismissed petitions by retired employees of Punjab State Cooperative Bank and district cooperative banks, who had challenged the 2015 repeal.
The court held the scheme was non-statutory and financially unviable, noting employees continue to get central entitlements and a replacement model under the New Pension Scheme introduced in 2012.
