Old Pension Scheme benefits denied to employees whose claims are governed by prior adverse judicial precedents.

The four applicants, serving in various capacities (LSG SPM and Postal Assistant) within the Mysore Division of the Department of Posts, challenged an impugned reply dated 11.03.2022.

This reply rejected their request to be shifted from the New Pension Scheme (NPS) to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS).

The applicants approached the Central Administrative Tribunal, Bangalore Bench, seeking the quashing of the order and a consequential direction to the respondents to extend OPS benefits to them.

1. Whether the applicants are entitled to the implementation of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) in place of the New Pension Scheme (NPS)

The Tribunal applied the principle of stare decisis and judicial consistency, relying on its own contemporaneous decision in Smt. Kanthamani T. and another vs. Union of India and others (OA No. 297/2025).

The court's reasoning is governed by Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, which provides the framework for redressing grievances related to service matters.

The Tribunal noted that the legal and factual issues involved in the present application were identical to those addressed in OA No. 297/2025.

By applying the doctrine of parity, the Tribunal determined that the reasoning and findings recorded in the reference case (Smt. Kanthamani T.) were squarely applicable to the applicants in this matter.

Since the prior related matter had resulted in an adverse finding for the petitioners therein, the Tribunal adopted the same reasoning to ensure uniform application of law regarding the eligibility for the Old Pension Scheme.

Consequently, the Original Application was dismissed, and the request to extend the Old Pension Scheme was denied. All pending Miscellaneous Applications (MAs) were disposed of, with no order as to costs.