Himachal High Court Rules: 2004-2014 Contract Service to Be Counted for Pension, Government Appeal Dismissed
The Himachal Pradesh High Court has delivered a landmark ruling in favor of contract employees. The court dismissed the state government’s appeal, which had challenged a single bench order. The order confirms that 10 years of contract service from 2004 to 2014 will be counted for pension benefits.
The division bench of Justices Vivek Singh Thakur and Ranjan Sharma passed the order while hearing the case of State vs Jagdev Singh and Others. The court noted that in the earlier Umavati vs Himachal Pradesh case, it was already established that contract service would count toward pension, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court.
The court further clarified that employees are seeking only pension benefits, not salary increments, and therefore dismissed the government’s appeal. The path for calculating pension benefits based on contract service is now clear, and the government cannot challenge it further.
However, the matter of annual salary increments during contract service is still pending in the Supreme Court. In the Ram Chand vs Himachal Pradesh case, it will be determined whether annual increments during the contract period should be added to the salary once regularized. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the employees in the future, they will also benefit from it.
3 Comments