Previous service as a contract employee will be taken into account for pension - Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has recently said in one of its important decisions in the case of Himachal Pradesh that the service rendered as a contract worker will be taken into account for pension.

The court, interpreting the rules and regulations, directed the Himachal Pradesh government to give an opportunity to the contractual employees who were regularized in the job to exercise the option as per the rules and after completing the whole process in four months, the pension of such employees of the Education and Ayurvedic Department or Family pension as the case may be, issue orders.

A bench of Justices S. Ravindra Bhat and Arvind Kumar gave the order on August 7 while dismissing the Himachal Pradesh government's petition against the High Court order and disposing of several other petitions. The Himachal Pradesh High Court had ordered the past service as a contract employee to be taken into account for pension. The name of the case in the Supreme Court was State of Himachal Pradesh and others Vs. Sheela Devi.

Challenging the High Court's decision, the Himachal Pradesh government had argued on the basis of Rule 2 (g) of the CCS Pension Rules, 1972 that contractual employees have been kept out of the purview of pension rules. The government's submission was that Rule 17 which allows for the period of service as a contract employee to be taken into account for computing pension would not be applicable because of the exclusion clause in Rule 2(g).

Rejecting the state government's argument, the Supreme Court said that if this rule is read according to the state government's interpretation, then rule 17 will become redundant. The Court held that it is only for pension purposes that the previous service as a contract employee should be taken into account.

Ignoring the arguments of the state government, the Supreme Court has ordered that with immediate effect, all contract employees regularized by the state government, whether they were regularized before or after 2003, should be given a chance to exercise their option within eight weeks. will take steps to decide the manner in which

The court has said that on receipt of the option within the time given in the notice, the amount that they would need to remit their contribution would be notified. It will also specify the deadline for payment. The entire process will be completed within four months and orders will be issued for pension or family pension as the case may be.

The employees working on a contract or contractual basis in Education and Ayurvedic Department were regularized in the job. Many were appointed before the Pension Rules 2004 were made, in which the eligibility for pension was abolished, after which they were regularized. Some had become regulars earlier.

The employees had demanded that the period of service rendered by them as contract employees should also be included in the calculation of pension after regularisation, but their claim was rejected by the state government.

The employees filed a petition in the High Court. The High Court ordered the state government to take into account the previous service of the contract period in pension, then the state government appealed against it in the Supreme Court. During the hearing on the matter, the new pension scheme implemented by the Himachal Pradesh government on May 4 was also discussed.