The Secretary General (SG) of Parliament, Dhammika Kitulgoda, due to retire in February, has written to the Director of Pensions, requesting that his pension be commuted on par with that given to a retiring judge of the Supreme Court (SC), as he would have been in such a position, had he continued his career in the judiciary, and not been appointed SG.
The Sunday Times learns that the letter has been forwarded to the Ministry of Public Administration by the Director of Pensions, where the matter is pending.
The Ministry is expected to write to Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa this week, regarding the request, before making a final decision on whether to grant Mr. Kitulgoda the pension of a retiring SC judge, or that of a retiring SG, which is considerably lower than that of a senior judicial officer.
The salary and pension of the SG of Parliament is on par with a Secretary to a Ministry, which would be around Rs. 65,000, while that of a SC judge is on par with a Cabinet Minister, and would be over Rs 85,000.
An official source said that it is unlikely that someone who does not get the salary of a SC judge would be given the pension of a SC judge.
Another source said that such a request is unlikely to be granted. ”We need some clarifications on the matter, and once we receive that, a decision will be taken, but it is unlikely such a precedent will be allowed,” the source said.
Mr. Kitulgoda served nearly 20 years in the judiciary, first as a Magistrate and then as a District Judge, before being appointed Secretary- Judicial Services Commission.
He first served as SG of Parliament between 1999 and 2002. He was reappointed to the post in August 2010, after serving as Secretary- Constitutional Council, which was set up under the 17th Amendment, and has since been abolished. |
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