Punjab and Haryana HC upholds AFT order on reservist sepoys’ pension

Granting relief to a few surviving pensioners, some now in their 90s, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has upheld a judgment of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) that had directed the government to restore the protection of reservist sepoys’ pension. This would now entitle them to higher pension.

During earlier times, sepoys used to be recruited under the ‘Colour + Reserve’ system of enrolment in which after serving for 15 years, including eight years in colour service and seven years in reserve, they were entitled to “reservist pension”. This was regulated at the rate not less than two-thirds of what was applicable to the lowest grade of sepoy with 15 years of service.

Initially, reservist pension was granted at Rs 10 per month while lowest grade of sepoy was granted Rs 15 per month. Over the years, both categories reached near parity and the government decided to formalise the two-third formula from 1986 onwards. The pension regulations of 1961 were amended to ensure that reservists did not get more than two-thirds pension of a sepoy.

While the government kept paying reservists a pension with two-third protection, the same got disturbed after the “One Rank, One Pension” (OROP) scheme came into effect in 2014, resulting in the reservist pension becoming less than half of what a sepoy of lowest grade was receiving.

When the affected reservist pensioners approached the AFT, the tribunal decided in July 2023 that although reservists were also sepoys, they could not be granted OROP equal to sepoys, however they were entitled to two-thirds protection of pension.

The AFT judgement was challenged by the Central Government in the HC. A Division Bench comprising Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Sudeepti Sharma has now affirmed the tribunal’s order