LexTHE STATE OF BIHAR & ORS. versus RAJMATI DEVI & ANR.
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A B C D E F G H 284 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2022] 3 S.C.R. [2022] 3 S.C.R. 284 284 THE STATE OF BIHAR & ORS. v. RAJMATI DEVI & ANR. (Civil Appeal Nos. 3900-3901 of 2022) MAY 20, 2022 [M. R. SHAH AND B.V. NAGARATHNA, JJ.] Pension – Family Pension – Entitlement to – Deceased husband of Respondent no.1, whether governed by the New Contributory Pension Scheme of 2005 or the Old Pension Rules of 1950 – Held: When the husband of Respondent no.1 came to be absorbed in government service, the Old Pension Rules were already abolished, and the New Pension Scheme was in existence – He was, therefore, governed by the New Pension Scheme which, however, did not provide for family pension – Respondent no.1 accordingly not entitled to family pension – Bihar Pension Rules, 1950 – Bihar Government Servant Contributory Pension Scheme, 2005. Allowing the appeals, the Court HELD:1. The husband of respondent No. 1 came to be absorbed in the government service in the year 2014 w.e.f. 02.03.2009. Till 02.03.2009, he remained the employee of the Bihar Research Society, of which he was an employee and working. The Old Pension Rules, 1950 came to be abolished and the New Contributory Pension Scheme came to be introduced w.e.f. 01.09.2005. Under the New Contributory Pension Scheme, there is no provision for pension/family pension. As per the Scheme, all those who are appointed after 31.08.2005 shall be governed by the New Contributory Pension Scheme. Therefore, at the time when the husband of respondent No. 1, who died in the year 2013, was absorbed, the Old Pension Rules were abolished and the New Contributory Pension Scheme was in existence. As per the corrigendum issued in the appointment order and as per clause 6, the prior service rendered by the concerned employee prior to his absorption shall not be treated as a government service. Therefore, the husband of respondent A B C D E F G H 285 No. 1 can be said to be a government servant and in government service w.e.f. 02.03.2009 only. Therefore, the husband of respondent No. 1 was governed by the New Contributory Pension Scheme under which there is no provision for the pension/family pension. Therefore, the High Court has committed a grave error in directing the appellant to pay the family pension to respondent No. 1 applying the Old Pension Rules, which were applicable prior to 31.08.2005. The aforesaid aspect has not been considered by the High Court at all and the Single Judge simply considered that on the death of the husband of respondent No. 1, who died in harness while in service, respondent No. 1 is entitled to the family pension under family pension scheme. However, the High Court has not at all considered that on coming into force the New Contributory Pension Scheme, no government employee appointed after 31.08.2005 shall be entitled to any other benefit except under the New Contributory Pension Scheme. In that view of the matter, respondent No. 1 shall not be entitled to the family pension under the Old Pension Rules, which were not applicable at the time when the husband of respondent No. 1 came to be absorbed in the government service w.e.f. 02.03.2009. [Para 6][288-D-H; 289-A-C] 2. Accordingly, the judgments and orders passed by the Single Judge as well as the Division Bench of the High Court holding that respondent No.1 shall be entitled to the family pension under the Old Pension Rules are hereby quashed and set aside. It is observed and held that as the husband of respondent No. 1 was absorbed in the government service only w.e.f. 02.03.2009, he shall be governed by the New Pension Scheme i.e., Bihar Government Servant Contributory Pension Scheme, 2005. [Para 7][289-C-D] CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal Nos.3900- 3901 of 2022. From the Judgment and Order dated 11.04.2017 of the High Court of Judicature at Patna in LPA No.1099 of 2016 and Order dated 04.09.2017 in Civil Review No.334 of 2017. Shivam Singh, Abhinav Singh, Manish Kumar, Advs. for the Appellants. THE STATE OF BIHAR & ORS. v. RAJMATI DEVI & ANR. A B C D E F G H 286 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2022] 3 S.C.R. Jayant K. Sud, ASG, Ms. Rachitta Rai, Ms. Alka Agrawal, Ms. Vimla Sinha, T. S. Sabarish, Ms. Gargi Khanna, Shantanu Sharma, Raj Bahadur Yadav, Advs. for the Respondents. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by M. R. SHAH, J. 1. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order dated 11.04.2017 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Patna in Letters Pate
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