Chandigarh, March 20 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court has ruled that the Punjab State Co-operative Agricultural Service Societies Service Rules, 1997, mandating retiral benefits to its employees are ultra vires of the Punjab Co-operative Societies Act, 1961.

The petitions were from retired employees of various co-operative societies from Punjab seeking the release of their retiral benefits along with interest for the delayed payment in terms of the 1997 service rules.

The high court bench of justice HS Brar disposed of the petitions terming them "non-maintainable" and observed that the registrar had no legal authority to frame these rules, and hence, employees of co-operative societies cannot claim retirement benefits.

The court ad...