Only employees appointed before 01.04.2003 can claim benefits under the Old Pension Scheme per Tamil Nadu Pension Rules.

(Order of the Court was made by S.M.SUBRAMANIAM, J.

The writ petition has been instituted questioning the validity of the order dated 23.03.2023, rejecting the claim of the writ petitioner for extending the benefit of the Old Pension Scheme under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, 1978 .

2. When the matter was taken up for hearing, the learned counsel for the respondents submitted that the issue involved in the present writ petition has already been elaborately dealt with by this Court in its order dated 18.03.2024 in W.P.Nos.1661 of 2015, 19076 and 35462 of 2023 [ P.Jayakumari v. The Government of Tamil Nadu , Rep. by its Secretary to Government, Home (Courts – II) Department]. The relevant portion of the order is extracted hereunder:

“10. Let us consider the reference made before the Full Bench in the case of R.Kaliyamoorthy reported in (2019) 6 CTC 705 cited supra. The reference reads as under:-

“1. This Full Bench was constituted by the Honourable The Chief Justice pursuant to the order dated 29.08.2018 passed by the Division Bench of this Court in W.A. No. 1218 of 2018 etc., batch to refer the below mentioned issue for an authoritative pronouncement:-

"In view of the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, as amended, if a government servant is regularised in service after 01.04.2003 whether such a person will be entitled to count 50% of the past service rendered prior to regularization for the purpose of computing his pension under the Old Pension Scheme.”

2. For the sake of clarity, we are paraphrasing the above reference as follows:-

"Whether half of the past service rendered by Government servants whose appointments were regularised after 01.04.2003 can be counted for the purpose of grant of pension under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, 1978 in the light of the amendments to the aforesaid rules vide G.O. Ms. No.259, Finance (Pension) Department dated 06.08.2003 and G.O. Ms. No.41, Finance (Pension) Department dated 08.02.2010."

11. The reference has been answered by the Full Bench in Paragraph No.

45, which reads as under:-

“ 45. In the light of the above, we answer the reference as follows:-

i)Those who are freshly appointed on or after 01.04.2003 are not entitled to pension in view of proviso to Rule 2 of Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, 1978 inserted by G.O.Ms.No.259 dated 06.08.2003.

ii)Those government servants/employees appointed prior to 01.04.2003 whether on temporary or permanent basis in terms of Rule 10 (a) (i) of Tamil Nadu State and Subordinate Service Rules will be entitled to get pension as per the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, 1978 .

iii)In case, a government employee/servant had also rendered service in non-provincialised service, or on consolidated pay or on honorarium or daily wage basis and if such services were regularised before 01.04.2003, half of such service rendered shall be counted for the purpose of conferment of pensionary benefits.

iv) Those government servants who were appointed in the aforesaid four categories before the cut off date and later appointed under Rule 10 (a) (i) of Tamil Nadu State and Subordinate Service Rules before 01.04.2003 and absorbed into regular service after 01.04.2003 will not be entitled to count half of their past service for the purpose of determination of qualifying service for pension v)Those government servants who were appointed in the aforesaid four categories before 01.04.2003 but were absorbed in regular service after 01.04.2003 will not be entitled to count half of their past service for the purpose of determination of qualifying service for pension."

12. Therefore, the Full Bench Judgment is to be read in the context of the reference made and no