Entry Into Service Decides Pension Rights, Not Date Of Regularization: Punjab & Haryana High Court Restores Old Pension To Part-Time Sweeper

“Part-Time Service Followed By Regular Service Is Liable To Be Counted Towards Qualifying Service”, In a significant ruling reinforcing pension rights of long-serving employees, the Punjab and Haryana High Court held that an employee who entered service prior to 01.01.2004 cannot be denied the benefit of the Old Pension Scheme merely because his regularization occurred after the cut-off date.

Justice Harpreet Singh Brar quashed the impugned order dated 01.08.2025 and memo dated 23.10.2024 whereby the petitioner was placed under the New Pension Scheme solely on the ground that his services were regularized w.e.f. 10.04.2006. The Court directed the respondents to count his entire part-time service from 01.10.1989 towards qualifying service and grant pension under the Old Pension Scheme within three months.

“The Petitioner Admittedly Entered Into Service Much Prior To 01.01.2004”

The petitioner was appointed as a part-time Sweeper on 01.10.1989 and continued uninterruptedly in service. His services were regularized as a Peon in 2024 with effect from 10.04.2006 pursuant to litigation and a Division Bench judgment. He retired on 30.06.2023 after rendering 33 years of service.

Despite this, pension under the Old Pension Scheme was denied on the ground that his regularization was after 01.01.2004, the cut-off date for introduction of the New Pension Scheme.

Rejecting this narrow approach, the Court observed that the petitioner “admittedly entered into service much prior to 01.01.2004 and continued in service till his retirement.” The controversy, the Court noted, was “no longer res integra” and stood covered by consistent judicial precedent.

“Denial Of Pensionary Benefits Under Old Pension Scheme Is Unsustainable In The Eyes Of Law”

The Court relied upon earlier decisions including Jeewan Lata v. State of Punjab, Rajesh Kumar v. State of Punjab, and Bimla Devi v. PSPCL, wherein it was categorically held that part-time or daily wage service followed by regular service must be counted towards qualifying service for pension.

Justice Brar held that the action of the respondents in denying Old Pension Scheme benefits solely on the basis of post-2004 regularization was “unsustainable in the eyes of law.”

The judgment reinforces the principle that continuity of service and initial entry into service prior to the cut-off date are determinative, not the technical date of formal regularization.

Rule 3.17-A And Zile Singh: Part-Time Service Cannot Be Ignored

The Court also relied on Zile Singh v. State of Haryana, where part-time service rendered prior to regularization was directed to be counted for pensionary benefits. That view was upheld in appeal.

Quoting from the Division Bench in State of Haryana v. Zile Singh, the Court emphasized that long-term engagement cannot be dismissed as a mere contingency. The earlier Bench had observed that where service extends over years, “it could hardly be visualized to be a contingency as the need evidently was permanent.”

Rule 3.17-A of the Punjab Civil Services Rules was considered in that context. The Court reaffirmed that where engagement is continuous and followed by regularization without break, such service cannot be excluded from qualifying service on a hyper-technical interpretation.

33 Years Of Service Cannot Be Reduced To A Technicality

A key consideration was that the petitioner had rendered 33 years of service, including 17 years before regularization. He had approached the Court for regularization much prior to retirement and ultimately secured relief. The regularization order was issued in terms of a Division Bench judgment and related back to his continuous service.

The Court refused to allow pension rights to be defeated merely because formal regularization was granted after the 2004 cut-off, particularly when the employee had entered service in 1989 and served without interruption.

Relief Granted: OPS To Be Extended Within Three Months

Allowing the writ petition, the High Court set aside the impugned orders and directed the respondents to:

“count the past service/part time service rendered by the petitioner for the purpose of qualifying service and to extend to him the benefit of the Old Pension Scheme within a period of three months.”

The Court clarified that if any amount had been received by the petitioner under the CPF/New Pension Scheme, the same shall be refunded or adjusted.

Substance Over Technical Date Of Regularization

The judgment fortifies the consistent judicial view that pension is not a bounty but a right earned through long service. Where an employee’s entry into service predates 01.01.2004 and continuity is undisputed, the benefit of the Old Pension Scheme cannot be denied merely on the technical ground of post-2004 regularization.

By restoring pension under the Old Pension Scheme, the High Court has reaffirmed that long and uninterrupted service cannot be reduced to a procedural technicality.

Date of Decision: 16/02/2026