Telangana High Court Directs Old Pension Scheme Benefits For Retired HC Judge Within 8 Weeks

The Telangana High Court has asked the concerned authorities to expeditiously implement benefits of old pension scheme entitlement to retired High Court judge Justice G Sri Devi within 8 weeks. In doing so the court disposed of the judge's plea after noting the submission of the authorities that they had granted sanction to her entitlement to pension under the Old Pension Scheme. A Division Bench of Justice P. Sam Koshy and Justice Narsing Rao Nandikonda observed:“The learned ASGI, assisted by the learned counsel appearing for the Accountant General, today produced order dated 13.03.2026 issued to the Under Secretary, Government of India, Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs (Department of Justice), New Delhi granting approval and sanction so far as the pension payable to the petitioner under the Old Pension Scheme is 5 concerned and also granting calculation of pension which the petitioner would be entitled for, including all the arrears the petitioner would be entitled for from the date of her superannuation till date. The learned ASGI further submitted that since the present order from the office of the Accountant General had been issued by speed post on 13.03.2026, it is only a matter of time for the department to actually implement the same and in all probability, the same would be executed at the earliest and that considering the claim of the petitioner, it would expedited on priority basis.Given the said submissions made by the learned ASGI based upon the correspondence issued by the Principal Accountant General dated 13.03.2026… it is expected that the pension under the Old Pension Scheme payable to the petitioner, as has been approved by the department, would be implemented as expeditiously as possible, preferably within an outer limit of eight weeks from today.”The petition sought a direction to the authorities to grant her revised pension under the Old Pension Scheme instead of the Contributory Pension Scheme/New Pension Scheme under which she had been inadvertently notified after joining the Telangana High Court.The petitioner submitted that she was originally a judicial officer in the State of Uttar Pradesh and was later elevated as a Judge of the Allahabad High Court on 22.11.2018. She was subsequently transferred to the Telangana High Court on 02.05.2019, assumed charge on 15.05.2019, and demitted office on 09.10.2022 on attaining the age of superannuation.The Court noted that since she retired from the Telangana High Court, she was entitled to retiral and pensionary benefits from the State of Telangana. It further recorded that she was entitled to pension under the Old Pension Scheme, both from her initial service as a judicial officer and later as a High Court Judge, but “inadvertently” came to be notified under the Contributory Pension Scheme/New Pension Scheme after assuming charge in Telangana. As a result, she was being paid only around Rs.17,500 per month “as against her actual entitlement of Rs.1,12,500/- under the Old Pension Scheme.”The Bench recorded that, after notice was issued, both Telangana government and the office of the Accountant General scrutinised the claim and ultimately found that the petitioner was indeed entitled to pension under the Old Pension Scheme in terms of the option exercised by her while serving in Uttar Pradesh. The Court also noted that since the petitioner had received benefits under the Contributory Pension Scheme in the meanwhile, she was required to refund the amounts received, and the contributions lying with HDFC Bank also had to be returned to the State treasury so that her claim under the Old Pension Scheme could be processed.Significantly, the Court took note of the submission of the petitioner's counsel that the judge had already repaid the entire contribution received by her. The Government Pleader for also stated that the amount lying with HDFC Bank had been paid back to the Government.The Bench further noted that, on an earlier date, the State had already stated that it had “principally accept[ed]” the petitioner's entitlement and made the necessary correspondence with the High Court for the State of Telangana, which in turn had communicated with the office of the Principal Accountant General.Recording the submissions, the Court disposed of the writ petition with an expectation that the approved pension under the Old Pension Scheme would be implemented as expeditiously as possible, preferably within eight weeks.Case Title: Justice G. Sri Devi v. Union of India & Ors.Case No.: W.P. No.39063 of 2025Appearance: Mr. Paida Pratik Reddy for the petitioner; Mr. B. Narsimha Sarma, ASGI, for respondent Nos.1 and 2; Ms. M. Shalini, Government Pleader for Services-II, for respondent No.3; Mr. M. Murali for respondent No.4.Click Here To Read/Download Order

Telangana High Court Directs Old Pension Scheme Benefits For Retired HC Judge Within 8 Weeks

Ananya Tangri

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