Ad hoc service prior to 2004, regularized without break, qualifies for Old Pension Scheme.

The applicant, Ms. Manorama Sharma, was initially appointed as a Junior Technician (Radiology) on an ad hoc basis on 23.12.1999, which was a temporary position terminable without notice.

She was subsequently appointed as a Junior Technician (Radiotherapy) on an ad hoc basis on 16.03.2001.

Her services were governed by the CCS (Temporary Service) Rules, 1965, and she received various service benefits during her ad hoc tenure.

On 12.05.2004, her services were regularized in the same post, with no break in service between her ad hoc appointment and regularization.

The applicant submitted representations on 26.04.2019 and 13.05.2021, seeking the benefit of the GPF-cum-Old Pension Scheme under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, and the transfer of her NPS contribution to a GPF account.

Relying on the precedent set in *Dr. Neelam Aggarwal v. Union of India & Ors.* and *Harbans Lal v. State of Punjab & Ors.*, she contended that her ad hoc service followed by regularization should be counted for pensionary benefits, as she entered service prior to 01.01.2004.

The respondents rejected her request via an impugned order dated 11.06.2021, without providing specific reasons, stating that she was a new entrant after 01.01.2004, and thus covered by the National Pension System (NPS).

They also argued that the benefit in earlier similar cases was *in personam*.

1. Whether an employee who initially joined an ad hoc/temporary service prior to 01.01.2004 and whose services were subsequently regularized without any break after 01.01.2004, is entitled to be governed by the Old Pension Scheme under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, or by the National Pension System (NPS) introduced with effect from 01.01.2004?

The court applied the principles established in *Harbans Lal v. State of Punjab & Ors.*, decided on 31.08.2010 by the Hon’ble Punjab and Haryana High Court, which held that employees appointed on ad hoc/temporary basis prior to 01.01.2004 and regularized thereafter would be entitled to the benefit of the Old Pension Scheme.

The court also relied on its own decision in *Dr. Neelam Aggarwal & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors.*, decided on 13.03.2018, which directed the grant of GPF-cum-Old Pension Scheme to similarly situated employees.

Furthermore, the Tribunal's decision in *Madan Lal & Others v. PGI & Others* (O.A. NO. 060/59/2022) reiterated that employees entering service prior to 01.01.2004, even on an ad hoc basis, and subsequently regularized without a break, cannot be treated as new entrants for the applicability of the National Pension System.

The court also invoked Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India, emphasizing that denying similar relief to an identically situated applicant, once the legal issue is settled, would amount to hostile discrimination.

The Tribunal found that the legal controversy was no longer *res integra*.

The applicant's initial entry into service was on 23.12.1999, prior to the 01.01.2004 cut-off for NPS, and her service continued uninterrupted until regularization on 12.05.2004.

The court explicitly relied on the *Harbans Lal* judgment of the Hon'ble Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had attained finality, confirming that ad hoc service preceding regularization prior to 01.01.2004 qualified for the Old Pension Scheme.

The Tribunal further noted its own consistent position, as articulated in *Dr. Neelam Aggarwal* and *Madan Lal*, which had been upheld by higher courts (in *Dr. Neelam Aggarwal*, the SLP was dismissed by the Supreme Court).

The argument by the respondents that previously granted benefits were *in personam* was rejected, as doing so would violate Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, given the settled legal position and identical factual matrix.

Therefore, the respondent's denial of the Old Pension Scheme benefits to the applicant was deemed arbitrary and inconsistent with established legal precedents.

The impugned order dated 11.06.2021 was quashed and set aside, and the Original Application was allowed.