Chandigarh, July 27: Personnel who completed long-term contractual, part-time, or temporary service before gaining regular status have secured pension protection following a comprehensive ruling by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Justice Harpreet Singh Brar directed that pre-regularisation work history must be factored into pension calculations, bringing affected workers within the ambit of the Old Pension Scheme.
“The principle governing qualifying service remains clear, and prior division bench decisions on the subject hold full binding authority,” maintained the court while rejecting the state government’s arguments.
The judgment divided 95 petitions into two distinct groups, benefiting both long-serving ad-hoc staff and individuals whose recruitment processes commenced prior to January 1, 2006.
Advocates representing the workers maintained that long-standing service without break constitutes a valid basis for calculating retirement entitlements.
The High Court observed that continuous service extending over a decade cannot be overlooked simply due to initial employment classifications, instructing authorities to adjust pensionary benefits accordingly.
