Kochi, Jan 17 (IANS): The Kerala High Court, hearing the petition of a retired high court judge who was appointed as an ombudsman, has ruled that that his pension should not be deducted from the salary that he received for the latter post.

Justice K.K. Denesan (retd) sought the intervention of the court for this purpose and a bench of Justice Anu Sivaraman ruled that the provisions of the Panchayat Raj Act and the Ombudsman for Local Self Government Institutions (Inquiry of Complaints and Service Conditions Rules, 1999 are quite clear in as much as the provision specifically provides that a person appointed as ombudsman would be entitled to salary and allowances equivalent to that of a high court judge.

"The Act or the Rules, admittedly, do not provide for any deduction," the bench held.

Justice Denesan (retd) was appointed as an ombudsman under the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act and Rules on December 1, 2017 and served till December 21, 2020.

"Appropriate orders shall be passed within a period of one month from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment. Arrears thereof shall also be disbursed to the petitioner, without delay, at any rate, within a period of three months," the court ordered.