50% of temporary status service must count as qualifying service for pensionary benefits upon regularization.

The applicant was engaged as casual labour on 19.11.1977 and granted Temporary Status (MRCL) in 1989

Although approved for absorption before 01.01.2004 (Serial No. 493), he was regularized as a Safaiwala only on 29.11.2004

Upon retirement on 31.10.2019, the respondents initially placed him under the New Pension Scheme (NPS) and refused to count 50% of his casual/temporary service as qualifying service for pension

During the pendency of this litigation, the respondents issued an Office Order dated 07.07.2023 converting the applicant to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) under the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993, but failed to recalculate the actual pensionary benefits or count the prior service

1. Whether 50% of the service rendered as casual labour both before and after obtaining temporary status should be counted as qualifying service for pensionary benefits

2. Whether the applicant is entitled to revised pension and retiral benefits under the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993, given his selection prior to 01.01.2004

Para 2005(a) of the Indian Railway Establishment Manual (IREM) Vol. II, which mandates that casual labour attaining temporary status are entitled to count half the period of such service as qualifying service upon regular absorption

Supreme Court precedent in Union of India v. Rakesh Kumar & Ors. (2017), which established that 50% of service rendered before and after attaining temporary status must be reckoned for pension

Railway Board RBE No. 28/2020, which extends the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) to employees found suitable for appointment before 31.12.2003 but appointed after 01.01.2004

The Tribunal noted that the respondents had already conceded the applicant’s eligibility for the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) by issuing the order dated 07.07.2023

Applying Para 2005(a) of IREM Vol. II and the Rakesh Kumar judgment, the Tribunal found that the applicant’s temporary status service from 1989 until regular absorption in 2004 was legally required to be calculated at a 50% rate

The court reasoned that since the applicant was selected before the 01.01.2004 cut-off and had attained temporary status decades prior, the denial of consequential benefits and the failure to recalculate service rendered the respondents' actions unjustifiable under existing service law and judicial precedents

The respondents were directed to recalculate the qualifying service in terms of Para 2005(a) of IREM Vol. II and Para 55 of the Rakesh Kumar judgment, and consequently revise the pension and retiral benefits under the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993, within three months. No order was made as to costs