Says that pension cannot be denied simply because of late application, resignation
Police officers walk past the Supreme Court of Pakistan building in Islamabad, Pakistan April 6, 2022. REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court has held that pension is neither a concession nor a charity but a constitutional and legal right of a government employee which cannot be denied merely because of late application or resignation.
According to the court-approved detailed judgment issued for reporting, a three-member bench comprising Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb set aside the decision of the Federal Service Tribunal dated July 3, 2024 in the case of Muhammad Usman vs Federation of Pakistan.
The court noted that Muhammad Usman had completed more than 20 years of service as Senior Accountant (BS-11) in the Office of the Military Accounts General, Rawalpindi – in compliance with the statutory requirements for pension.
It further noted that following the 2001 amendment to the Civil Service Act, the qualifying service for pension was reduced from 25 to 20 years, a condition which the petitioner already fulfilled.
The Supreme Court rejected the argument that the petitioner was not entitled to pension due to 13 years of delay in filing his application.
The judgment stated that the right to pension arises immediately upon retirement or acceptance of resignation and cannot lapse solely because of delay. It added that neither the doctrine of laches nor the statute of limitations applies to pension claims.
The court also criticized the misinterpretation of CSR Regulation 418 and clarified that the regulation relates to counting of services and not complete forfeiture of pension.
It held that resignation in itself does not deprive an employee of a pension – especially when the required length of service has already been completed.
Declaring that the decisions of the tribunal and the department were based on a misunderstanding of the law, the SC converted the petition into an appeal and allowed it, directing the authorities to provide full pension benefits to Usman in accordance with the law.
Reiterating earlier precedent, the court once again emphasized that pension is a vested and protected right that cannot be taken away on administrative or technical grounds.
Last week, the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) upheld a series of judgments of the Lahore High Court (LHC) ordering the Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) to grant a monthly old-age pension to workers who had completed more than 14-and-a-half years of insurable service.
