Employees retiring on June 30 or December 31 are entitled to one notional increment for pensionary benefits.

The applicant, aged 65 years and a former employee of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), superannuated from service on June 30, 2021.

She sought the grant of one notional annual increment for the service period completed between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021, which became due on July 1, 2021—the day immediately following her retirement.

The applicant submitted representations to the respondents for the inclusion of this increment in her pensionary benefits and the issuance of a revised Pension Payment Order (PPO), but no relief was provided.

Consequently, she approached the Tribunal seeking the increment, arrears with 12% interest, and a revised pension.

1. Whether a government employee superannuating on 30th June is entitled to the benefit of a notional increment due on 1st July for the purpose of calculating pensionary benefits.

2. Whether the applicant is entitled to arrears of pension prior to May 1, 2023, in light of recent Supreme Court interim directions.

The Tribunal primarily applied the precedent set by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Director (Admn. and HR) KPTCL Ors. v. C.P. Mundinamani Ors. (2023) SSC Online SC 401, which held that notional increments must be granted to employees retiring on 30th June or 31st December for pensionary purposes.

It further relied on the interim order dated September 6, 2024, in Union of India Anr. v. M. Siddaraj (Misc. Application Diary No. 2400/2024), which restricted the payment of enhanced pension for third parties to the period on or after May 1, 2023.

Additionally, the court followed the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Office Memorandum (OM) dated October 14, 2024, which operationalized these judicial directions for Central Government employees.

The Tribunal found that the applicant's case was squarely covered by the principles established in C.P. Mundinamani, as she had completed a full year of service prior to her retirement on June 30th.

However, the Tribunal noted that the implementation must align with the Supreme Court's interim directions in M. Siddaraj, which sought to prevent excessive litigation by standardizing the date of effectivity.

Under these directions, "third parties" (those not part of the original litigation) are entitled to an enhanced pension only from May 1, 2023, and are explicitly barred from claiming arrears for the period prior to April 30, 2023.

The Tribunal noted that its own previous decision in Jiwan Singh v. Union of India Anr. (OA No. 2391/2024) had already applied these standards.

Since the legal position was settled and the DoPT had issued a clear OM on October 14, 2024, the Tribunal determined that the respondents were duty-bound to carry out the necessary re-calculation of the applicant's pensionary benefits.

The respondents were ordered to complete this exercise in accordance with the judgment in Jiwan Singh (supra) and the DoPT OM dated October 14, 2024, within a period of two months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of the order.

The holding implies that the applicant will receive an enhanced pension effective from May 1, 2023, without arrears for the period prior to that date.

No costs were awarded.