The judgment establishes the principle that the denial of pensionary benefits based on administrative delays and the fortuitous circumstance of joining service after the enforcement of a new scheme is unjust, arbitrary, and discriminatory.

Indira Banerjee, J.

1. In this writ petition, the petitioners have challenged an order dated 6th February 2016, whereby the respondents have denied to the petitioners the benefit of the Old Pension Scheme as per the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules 1972 and prayed for appropriate orders directing the respondents to extend the benefit of the Old Pension Scheme to the petitioners.

2. The petitioners, who are Inspectors in the Border Security Force had applied for recruitment in the Central Police Organisation pursuant to an advertisement issued by the Staff Selection Commission in the Employment News of 9 - 15 November 2002.

3. In the aforesaid advertisement, it was mentioned that the Staff Selection Commission would hold a Competitive Examination on 12.01.2003 for recruitment of Sub Inspectors in the Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force and Indo Tibetan Border Police Force.

4. The petitioners duly appeared for the aforesaid written competitive examination held on 12.01.2003. The petitioners qualified in the written examination, whereupon the petitioners were asked to appear for the Physical Efficiency Test. The petitioners were thereafter directed to appear for medical examination before the Medical Board on various dates from April 2003 to June 2003.

5. By a letter dated 10.03.2003, the petitioner No. 1 was directed to appear for Physical Efficiency Test on 05.04.2003, which he did. The petitioner no.1 qualified in the Physical Efficiency Test, after which a letter dated 14.05.2003 was issued to the petitioners asking him to report for medical examination at Group Centre II, CRPF, Ajmer, on 16.06.2003. The petitioner no.1 appeared for the medical examination, but was declared medically unfit by the Medical Board. Similarly the other petitioners also cleared the Physical Efficiency Test, but were upon medical examination, declared medically unfit.

6. After being declared medically unfit, the petitioners got themselves medically examined in other reputed medical institutions, where they were declared medically fit. The petitioners thereafter applied for medical re-examination by a Review Medical Board.

7. On 28.07.2003, while the appeals of the petitioners for medical re-examination by constitution of a Review Medical Board were pending, the Staff Selection Commission declared the results of all other candidates except the petitioners, and depending upon the option exercised by them and their merit position, the empanelled candidates were allocated different paramilitary forces, that is BSF, CISF, CRPF and ITBP.

8. It is stated that candidates selected to the CRPF, CISF, and ITBP were issued letters of appointment on diverse dates and they all joined the respective forces on or before 31.12.2003. The candidates selected for appointment as Sub Inspectors in the BSF were issued offers of appointment in October 2003, and asked to join the BSF in January 2004.

9. On 22.12.2003, before the sub inspectors selected for appointment in the BSF were required to join, a new Contributory Pension Scheme was introduced with effect from January 2004. The Sub Inspectors selected to the BSF, who were directed to join in January, 2004, were deprived of the benefit of the Old Pension Scheme as existing under the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules 1972.

10. On 28.12.2003, that is after over 6 months of the date, on which the petitioners appealed against the decision of the Medical Board, declaring them medically unfit, the petitioners were directed to appear before a Review Medical Board. All the petitioners were declared fit, after which letters dated 17.03.2004 were issued to the petitioners calling upon the petitioners to appear for interview before the Staff Selection Commission on 22.04.2004.

11. The petitioners were finally issued joining letters in March, 2005, after delay of another 11 months on the part of the Staff Selection Commission. The letter of appointment issued to the peti