Casual labor absorption through screening is ineligible for conversion to the Old Pension Scheme.

The applicant was engaged as a casual laborer from 02.03.1982 to 31.10.1982 (181 days), after which he was retrenched and placed on the Casual Labour Live Register

In 2003, a notification was issued to fill Group 'D' vacancies from the register; however, the applicant was initially found ineligible due to a lack of original documentation

Following a directive from the Ernakulam Bench in OA No. 377/2004, the applicant was eventually screened and appointed as a Temporary Trackman on 06.12.2005

His offer of appointment explicitly stated that he would be governed by the New Pension Scheme (NPS)

After retiring, the applicant sought to switch to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) citing Railway Board RBE No. 41/2023 (based on DoPT OM dated 03.03.2023), which allows a switch for those appointed against vacancies notified before 22.12.2003. The Respondents rejected this claim via an order dated 04.09.2023

1. Whether the applicant's engagement as a casual laborer in 1982 constitutes qualifying service for the purpose of granting benefits under the Old Pension Scheme.

2. Whether the applicant is entitled to switch from NPS to OPS under the DoPT OM dated 03.03.2023 and Railway Board OM dated 10.03.2023.

Rule 20 of the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993, which provides that qualifying service commences from the date a railway servant takes charge of a post to which he is first appointed in a substantive, officiating, or temporary capacity, provided such service is followed without interruption by substantive appointment

Paragraphs 2001 to 2007 of the Indian Railway Establishment Manual (IREM) Vol. II, stating that casual labor service prior to regular absorption does not count for seniority and that absorption is not automatic but subject to screening

DoPT OM dated 03.03.2023, which restricts the one-time option to switch to OPS to those appointed against posts/vacancies advertised or notified for recruitment prior to 22.12.2003

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant's service in 1982 was strictly casual and suffered from a significant break in service until his regular appointment in 2005, thus failing the "continuous service" requirement of Rule 20

Regarding the 2023 OMs, the Tribunal noted that these instructions apply only to employees recruited against vacancies advertised before the NPS cut-off date. The applicant’s absorption from the Casual Labour Live Register was not a result of a general recruitment advertisement but a screening process for retrenched laborers

The Tribunal observed that the applicant was appointed in 2005—well after the NPS implementation on 01.01.2004—and had accepted the offer of appointment which explicitly mandated NPS coverage

Citing a precedent from the Principal Bench, the Tribunal held that the benefit of the 2023 OM does not extend to the absorption of casual laborers regularized after the cut-off date

It further held that the applicant is not eligible to switch to the Old Pension Scheme under the 2023 OMs because his appointment was an absorption of casual labor rather than recruitment against a pre-2003 advertisement

The court affirmed that the applicant is bound by the New Pension Scheme terms he accepted at the time of his 2005 appointment

No order as to costs was issued