Casual employees engaged before 2004 are entitled to the Old Pension Scheme despite regularization after the implementation of the New Pension Scheme.

The applicant was engaged as a Driver on a daily wage basis by the respondents in September 1998 against a sanctioned post

After serving for approximately nine years, his services were regularized, and he was substantively appointed as a Staff Car Driver via an order dated February 15, 2007

Following regularization, the respondents shifted the applicant to the New Pension Scheme (NPS) and began deducting Contributory Pension Fund (CPF) contributions, citing DOPT guidelines dated April 26, 2004, which applied to fresh direct recruits

The applicant contended that since his initial service began in 1998 (prior to the introduction of NPS in 2004), he was entitled to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972

1. Whether an employee initially engaged on a daily wage basis prior to January 1, 2004, but regularized after that date, is entitled to coverage under the Old Pension Scheme (CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972) or the New Pension Scheme.

The Tribunal applied the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972, and the GPF Rules regarding pensionary benefits for employees entering service prior to 2004

It relied on the principle established in Harbans Lal v. State of Punjab (CWP No. 2371 of 2010), which held that initial engagement prior to 2004 determines pension scheme eligibility regardless of the date of regularization

Further, it cited Jagmohinder Singh & Ors v. UOI (O.A. No. 585/CH/2012) and P. Venkatesh v. Institute of Aerospace Medicine, IAF (O.A. No. 554/2019), which affirm that such employees are not "fresh appointees" for the purposes of the New Pension Scheme

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant’s continuous, uninterrupted service of eight years as a daily wager from 1998 to 2007 could not be disregarded

It rejected the respondents' argument that the applicant’s appointment in 2007 via direct recruitment justified exclusion from the OPS, noting that judicial precedents consistently protect the pension rights of those whose entry into service predates the 2004 cutoff

The Tribunal observed that the legal issue was squarely covered by its own prior decision in O.A No. 705/2022 (dated August 8, 2025), where it was held that the NPS cannot be applied retrospectively to wipe out prior service for pensionary purposes

The respondents were directed to consider the applicant's claim for switching from NPS to OPS. This relief was granted in terms of the Tribunal’s earlier order dated August 8, 2025, and is subject to the final outcome of the pending Writ Petition (CWP) before the Hon’ble High Court at Shimla challenging that preceding order.