Compassionate appointees who applied before 1 January 2004 qualify for the Old Pension Scheme.

The applicant’s father died on 10 October 2000.

Thereafter, the applicant’s mother submitted an application on 29 January 2001 seeking compassionate appointment for the applicant.

The request was initially rejected on 11 December 2001 but was subsequently reconsidered, and the applicant was appointed on compassionate grounds by order dated 27/28 February 2006.

Since the appointment was made after 1 January 2004, the applicant was placed under the National Pension System (NPS), which had replaced the applicable old pension regime for appointments made on or after that date.

His request for coverage under the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) was rejected on 28 April 2023.

He challenged that rejection before the Tribunal.

Whether the applicant’s eligibility for coverage under the Old Pension Scheme should be determined by the date of his application for compassionate appointment, i.e., 29 January 2001, rather than the date of his actual appointment in February 2006.

Whether, in view of the policy issued by the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare and adopted by the Railway Board, the applicant was entitled to be brought under the Old Pension System despite his appointment after 1 January 2004.

The Tribunal applied the policy contained in Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare O.M. No. 57/05/2021-P&PW(B)/Compassionate/10593 dated 22 June 2026, which provides that the date of application for compassionate appointment is to be treated as the crucial date for determining eligibility under the CCS (Pension) Rules, 2021, provided the applicant was eligible for consideration and had applied on or before 31 December 2003.

The Tribunal also relied on Railway Board RBE No. 49/2026 dated 24 June 2026, adopting the said policy for railway employees and clarifying that the application date, rather than the actual appointment date, governs eligibility for transition from the NPS to the OPS under the applicable Railway pension rules.

The Tribunal found that the material facts were undisputed: the compassionate appointment application had been submitted on 29 January 2001, before the cut-off date of 31 December 2003, whereas the actual appointment was made only in February 2006.

Applying the 2026 DoP&PW Office Memorandum and the Railway Board’s adopting order, the Tribunal held that the application date was the relevant date for determining pension-scheme eligibility.

Consequently, the fact that the applicant’s appointment was formally issued after the introduction of the NPS did not disentitle him from OPS coverage, provided the eligibility requirements under the policy were satisfied.

The rejection order dated 28 April 2023 was quashed.

The respondents were directed to complete the necessary process for bringing the applicant under the OPS within 60 days from receipt of the Tribunal’s order.

The Original Application was allowed, pending miscellaneous applications were disposed of, and costs were made easy.