Division Bench to Await Supreme Court's Decision on Pension Scheme Validity Before Final Adjudication
In a significant development, the Allahabad High Court's Division Bench, comprising Justices Rajan Roy and Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary, has stayed a Single Judge's order that extended pensionary benefits under the Old Pension Scheme to employees regularized after April 1, 2005. The decision came in the wake of a series of special appeals filed by the State of Uttar Pradesh challenging the earlier ruling.
The crux of the dispute centers on whether employees who were initially engaged on a temporary or work-charge basis and later regularized after the implementation of the New Pension Scheme in 2005, are eligible for pensionary benefits under the Old Pension Scheme. The Single Judge had ruled in favor of the employees, allowing their temporary service to count towards qualifying for the Old Pension Scheme, irrespective of their regularization date.
The State's counsel argued that the Single Judge's decision contradicted a prior Division Bench judgment in "Ashok Tewari v. State of U.P.," which had established that regularizations post-2005 should be covered under the New Pension Scheme. Furthermore, it was contended that a Single Judge does not have the authority to declare a Division Bench judgment as per incuriam; instead, the appropriate procedure would be to refer the matter to a Larger Bench.
The Division Bench noted that the Single Judge had relied on judgments that were subsequently overturned, including the case of "Dr. Shyam Kumar," which was set aside by the same Division Bench. The Bench highlighted the importance of judicial propriety and the necessity to adhere to established legal precedents unless reconsideration by a Larger Bench is warranted.
Adding to the complexity, the vires of amendments to the Uttar Pradesh Retirement Benefits Rules, 1961, which form the basis of the State's appeal, are currently under challenge in the Supreme Court. The High Court deemed it prudent to await the Supreme Court's decision in a related case concerning the validation of these amendments before proceeding with further adjudication.
The Division Bench's decision to stay the Single Judge's judgment underscores the intricate interplay between judicial hierarchies and the evolving landscape of pension rights for state employees. The appeals have been scheduled for a hearing on April 27, 2026, where they will be among the first ten cases of the day.
Bottom Line:
Pensionary benefits under Old Pension Scheme cannot be granted to employees regularized after 01.04.2005 when the New Pension Scheme came into force - A Single Judge cannot declare a Division Bench decision as per incuriam; instead, it must be referred for reconsideration by a Larger Bench.
Statutory provision(s): Uttar Pradesh Retirement Benefits Rules, 1961, Validation Act, 2021, New Pension Scheme, Old Pension Scheme
State of U.P. v. Ram Kumar, (Allahabad)(DB)(Lucknow) : Law Finder Doc id # 2876796
