KOCHI: A division bench of the High Court upheld the order of a single bench that the amount seized from the salary of KSRTC employees to be paid to the contributory pension scheme and state life insurance policy should be paid to the respective schemes within six months. The division bench clarified that KSRTC has no right to utilize this amount for other purposes due to financial crisis. The judgment of the bench comprising Justice Alexander Thomas and Justice C Jayachandran dismissed the appeal filed by KSRTC against the February 23, 2023 order of the single bench. The division bench extended the time till February 2024 to pay the amount.

KSRTC filed an appeal against the order of the single bench in a petition filed by 106 employees including SA Suneesh Kumar, a native of Palakkad, citing financial crisis. There was an argument that there is no need to worry as the petitioners have not reached the age of pension. But the division bench held that the diversion of the amount deducted from the salary cannot be justified.