Supreme Court: Pension Cannot Be Denied for ‘Break in Service’ If Absence Was Regularized

The Supreme Court has ruled that a retired government employee cannot be denied pension benefits if their absence from duty was regularized as extraordinary leave. The Court stated that if an employee’s prolonged absence is treated as extraordinary leave and their service is regularized, it cannot be considered a ‘break in service’ for denying pension.

Background of the Case

A retired government employee had approached the Supreme Court after being denied pension and retirement benefits. The employee had been prevented from signing the attendance register and performing duties, which led to her absence from work. Despite multiple legal proceedings, no departmental inquiry was conducted against her. Eventually, her service was regularized by treating her absence as extraordinary leave.

However, the authorities refused to grant her pension, arguing that her period of absence did not count as service for pension eligibility. Both the State Administrative Tribunal and the High Court upheld this decision, leading the employee to file an appeal before the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court’s Decision

A bench comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra heard the case. The Court ruled in favor of the retired employee, setting aside the previous judgments.

The judgment, authored by Justice Mishra, emphasized that once the employee’s service was regularized by treating her absence as extraordinary leave, it could not be used as a reason to deny her pension. The Court held that the government must have a clear legal basis to deny pension benefits. If the authorities claimed unauthorized absence, they were required to prove it through a proper departmental inquiry.

Since no such inquiry was conducted, the Court found it unjust to shift the burden of proof onto the employee. The ruling stated:

“Denial of pensionary benefits to an employee must be based on a rule that allows the government to do so. When an employee’s service is regularized by treating the absence as extraordinary leave, it cannot be later considered unauthorized leave for the purpose of denying pension benefits.”

Final Verdict

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and directed the authorities to finalize and disburse the employee’s pension within three months. This ruling reinforces the protection of government employees’ pension rights and ensures that procedural lapses by authorities do not unfairly impact their retirement benefits.