Compendium of Case Studies on Pension Litigation – National Workshop on Pension Litigation July 02, 2025: Compendium of Case Studies on Pension Litigation – Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare (DoP&PW)

Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare

Compendium of
Case Studies on Pension Litigation

V. Srinivas, IAS
SECRETARY

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES’ & PENSIONS
DEPARTMENT OF PENSION AND PENSIONERS’ WELFARE
LOK NAYAK BHAWAN, KHAN MARKET
NEW DELHI-110003

FOREWORD

Building consensus across stake holding Ministries and Departments of Government of India for a better and smarter legal management mechanism has been on the anvil of DoPPW for some time now. This document, titled “Compendium of Case Studies on Pension Litigation” provides a comprehensive overview of the pension-related policies, legal frameworks, and judicial precedents administered by the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW), the nodal authority for formulating pension policies for Central Government Civil Employees. It delves into the complexities of pension litigation, highlighting key court cases, their implications, and the evolving regulatory landscape as shaped by the Government on Pension policy.

The case studies presented herein address critical issues such as pension parity, forfeiture of benefits for Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) absorbees, commutation restoration periods, and additional pension provisions for elderly retirees. These cases provides and insight about the challenges faced by the DoPPW in balancing policy adherence with judicial interpretations, inter-ministerial coordination, and the financial implications of court rulings. By examining landmark judgments from the Ld. Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Hon’ble High Courts, and the Hon’ble Supreme Court, this document underscores the importance of a coordinated and systemic approach to managing pension litigation to safeguard Government interests while addressing pensioners’ grievances.

This compilation serves as a valuable resource for policymakers, legal practitioners, and administrative authorities involved in Pension Governance, offering insights into the interplay of Policy, Law, and Judicial review in shaping pension entitlements for Central Government employees.

Sd/-
(V. Srinivas)

INDEX

S.No	Subject	Page no.
1.	Background	1
2.	Case 1: Parity in Pension of Pre 2006 retirees with the Post 2006 retirees (S-30 case)	3
3.	Case 2: Contempt Petition No. 648 of 2024 in OA No. 2086/2018 in Ld CAT PB Delhi in the matter of Central Govt (S-29) Pensioners Association Vs UOI	7
4.	Case 3: Pension Forfeiture for Absorbed PSU Employees– A Deep Dive into Rule 37(29)(c) and the Supreme Court’s Stance	10
5.	Case 4: Court cases on Rule 10 A	14
6.	Case 5: Pension Fixation of all pre – 2006 retirees with twenty years of qualifying service	17
7.	Case 6: Pensioners seeking benefit of revision of pension on the basis of up gradation of posts/pay scales which happened subsequent to their retirement.	19
8.	Case 7: Additional Pension	20
9.	OM No.38/70/14-P&PW(A) Court Orders against DoP&PW Government of India Instructions on service matters – Consultation with Ministry of Law and DoP&PW on the question of filing appeals before implementation of Court’s orders.	23
10.	OM No.38/05(25)/2024-P&PW(A)(9633) Policy for references of Court Cases to Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare – Instructions – reg.	24

Background

The Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare is the nodal Department for formulation of Pension Policies/Rules in respect of Central Government Civil Employees. This Department administers Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules 2021, Central Civil Services (Extra Ordinary Pension) Rules 2023, Central Civil Services (Commutation of Pension) Rules 1981, Central Civil Services (Implementation of National Pension System) Rules, 2021 and the Central Civil Services (Payment of Gratuity under National Pension System) Rules, 2021. These policies/rules are implemented by the concerned administrative Ministries/Departments from where the employees are retired/served.

2. This Department also co-ordinate matters for welfare of Central Government pensioners and serve as a forum for the redressal of Pensioners’ grievances.

3. It is observed that the Pension litigation mainly arises when pensioners’ grievances remain unresolved and they face financial hardships due to disputes in the calculation of pension amounts/arrears, delays in processing & sanction of pension, revisions as per Central Pay Commission recommendations, eligibility of dependents for Family Pension, etc. A large number of litigations also arise due to disputes in interpretation of CCS Pension Rules.

4. The system for handling pension litigation is in place and as per the existing instructions of the Government of India (DoPT) vide OM No. 43011/9/2014-Estt.D dated 13.02.2015 and DO letter No. 1/50/3/2016-Cab dated 16th June 2016, the primary responsibility for defending the court cases on behalf of the UOI lies with the administrative Ministry/Department concerned of the applicant. This is to ensure a unified stand and common counter reply on behalf of UOI before the court. Co-ordinated approach should be followed and Nodal Departments be consulted for the interpretation/application of the rules. In no case should the litigation be allowed to prolong to the extent that it results in contempt proceedings.

5. Being Nodal, DoPPW is a highly litigant Department impleaded in almost all the pension related Court cases/Contempt cases filed before various Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), High Courts, and the Supreme Court involving different Ministries/Departments. At present, this Department is facing challenge of more than 300 such litigation cases.

6. Recently, there have been a number of adverse judgments in court cases relating to pension policy matters with specific reference to Hon’ble HC, Delhi common order dated 20.03.2024 in case of Union of India v All India S-30 Pensioners Association, Union of India v M.R.Tagore, Union of India V Usha Ahuja etc. which were against the Government of India’s extant pension policy. The judgment envisaged review of accepted policy of 6th CPC recommendations with huge and cascading effect. After inter-ministerial consultations and legal consultations, Government of India has notified “Validation of the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules and Principles for Expenditure on Pension liabilities from the Consolidated Fund of India” on 29.03.2025 and it is part of the Finance Act, 2025.

7. Apart from above, other critical cases challenging the pension policies like seeking OPS instead of NPS, qualifying service for pension, PSU absorption related cases, Invalid Pension, additional Pension, etc. are running across various courts. Since the cases are crucial with substantial financial impact, this Department seeks continuous coordination with administrative Ministry/Departments and standing Counsels for providing instructions/clarifications for effective proceedings.

8. In order to address the policy related aspect, this Department has already issued polices vide OMs No.38/70/14-P&PW(A) dated 07.10.2015 and recent OM No.38/05(25)/2024-P&PW(A) (9633) dated 15.07.2024 making it mandatory for all Ministries/Departments to refer court cases to DoPPW at 1st appellate stage to improve the quality of pleadings and presenting of the Pension Policies/Rules before the Courts, for safeguarding the Government interests. The advisories from DoPPW at 1st appellate stage would enhance the responsibility of the Ministry/ Department for defending Government interest in a systemic manner with minimum delays.

9. Regarding Monitoring of pension related court cases, this Department has taken up the matter with D/o Legal Affairs for technology improvements on LIMBS like auto population of data from court websites, link between Nodal Officers and Central Government Standing Counsels, Multi-Ministry Module etc. for better coordinated approach for handling litigation and avoiding delays.

10. Instructions have been issued from time to time by the Department of Legal Affairs (DLA) regarding handling of litigations. Recently, DLA has issued Directives vide OM No. J-18/5/2016-Judicial dated 04th April 2025 for the effective and efficient management of Litigation by the Government of India and has suggested an operational framework to manage the litigation.

11. All the Ministries/Departments may ensure that the above points are duly taken care of while handling Pension related court cases.