Lucknow, Apr 2 In a major relief to the Uttar Pradesh government, the Allahabad High Court on Thursday stayed an order of a single-judge bench that had extended the Old Pension Scheme's (OPS) benefits to certain employees, a move that could have imposed a substantial financial burden on the state exchequer.
The Lucknow bench of the court passed the interim order. The bench of Justices Rajan Roy and A K Chaudhary was hearing around 40 special appeals filed by the state's Public Works Department.
The appeals had challenged the November 4, 2025, verdict of the single-judge bench, directing the state to grant OPS benefits by clubbing the entire service periods of employees, even if their regularisation occurred after April 1, 2005, the date from which the New Pension Scheme (NPS) came into effect.
Opposing the order, the state government argued that the ruling was contrary to earlier division-bench judgments, including the Ashok Tiwari case, and contended that the single judge lacked the authority to override such precedents. It was also submitted that some rulings relied upon in the impugned judgment were already set aside by larger benches.
During the hearing, the court noted that the validity of the Uttar Pradesh Pension Amendment Act, 2021, is currently under consideration before the Supreme Court.
Observing that the appeals raised significant legal questions requiring a detailed examination, the bench stayed the operation of the single-judge order and fixed April 27 for final hearing of the matter.
