The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that employees who rendered long and uninterrupted service on part-time, temporary or contractual basis before regularisation are entitled to have such service counted as qualifying service for pension. Once that service is reckoned, they cannot be denied the benefit of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) merely because their regularisation took place after the introduction of the New Pension Scheme (NPS).The court also extended OPS benefits to another category of employees whose recruitment process had commenced before the prescribed cut-off date but whose appointments were made later owing to administrative delays.Justice Harpreet Singh Brar passed the ruling while disposing of a bunch of 95 writ petitions through a common judgment. The court classified the petitions into two categories. The first comprised employees appointed on part-time, temporary or contractual basis before January 1, 2006, but regularised thereafter. They were counting their pre-regularisation service for pension. The second involved employees claiming OPS under the Haryana Government’s Office Memorandum dated May 8, 2023, on the ground that they had been appointed against posts advertised before the introduction of the New Pension Scheme.Appearing for the petitioners in one of the matter, advocate Himanshu Malik contended that the petitioners’ pre-regularisation service could not be ignored while determining their pensionary entitlement, particularly in view of the settled legal position governing qualifying service and the State’s own policy framework.Rejecting the State’s contention that the provisions of the Punjab Civil Services Rules excluded part-time service from qualifying service for pension, the court held that the issue already stood concluded by the Division Bench judgment in the case of “State of Haryana versus Jai Bhagwan”. Justice Brar noted that the Supreme Court, while dismissing the State’s Special Leave Petition, had kept the question of law open. But the Division Bench judgment continued to hold the field and remained binding on the High Court unless overruled or distinguished by a larger Bench.Referring to the petitions before the Bench, Justice Brar observed one the petitioners had rendered continuous service from February 15, 2002, on a part-time basis and continued to serve without any interruption for more than a decade before being regularised on May 16, 2016.“In these circumstances, this Court is of the considered view that it would result in manifest injustice if the valuable service rendered by the petitioner prior to regularisation is excluded from consideration for the purpose of pensionary benefits merely because the initial engagement was on a part-time basis,” Justice Brar asserted.The Bench also rejected the argument that employees had accepted the applicability of the New Pension Scheme by signing regularisation or appointment orders. It held that such acceptance could not amount to a waiver of statutory or constitutional rights, particularly where employees had no real bargaining power and acceptance of those conditions was necessary to secure regular employment.“Mere acceptance of such terms cannot operate as a waiver of statutory or constitutional rights, particularly where the employee had no real bargaining power and the acceptance was a condition precedent for securing regular employment,” Justice Brar ruled.The Bench held: “The petitioners falling under Category I were entitled to have the service rendered by them on a part-time, contractual or temporary basis prior to their regularisation reckoned as qualifying service for the purpose of pensionary benefits.””Once such past service is taken into account, the respondents cannot deny them the benefit of the Old Pension Scheme merely on the ground that their regularisation took place after the introduction of the New Pension Scheme,” Justice Brar assertedThe court also quased the impugned orders denying pensionary benefits under the Old Pension Scheme before directing the respondents to count the past service rendered by the petitioners on a part-time/temporary/contractual basis prior to their regularisation as qualifying service for pension, and accordingly fix/release their consequential pensionary and retiral benefits under the Old Pension Scheme along with arrears within a period of six weeks from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order.Referring to the second category of petitions, the court asserted the petitioners were entitled to the benefit of the office memorandum dated May 8, 2023, and “accordingly are directed to exercise their option to switch over to the Old Pension Scheme within a period of six weeks from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order. Upon receipt of options, the respondents shall process their claims and fix/release their consequential pensionary and retiral benefits under the Old Pension Scheme along with arrears within a further period of six weeks.”