Ex-Servicemen lose EPFO pay fight: Telangana HC upholds CAT order

Petitioners argued that their initial salaries in EPFO should have been fixed based on the pay they received before retiring from the Armed Forces.

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court has dismissed a petition filed by former Army and Air Force personnel seeking protection of their last-drawn defence salaries after joining the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) as Social Security Assistants.

The petitioners argued that their initial salaries in EPFO should have been fixed based on the pay they received before retiring from the Armed Forces. However, the High Court ruled that re-employed ex-servicemen do not have an automatic right to receive pay equal to their last defence salary.

A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice P Sam Koshy and Justice Narsing Rao Nandikonda upheld the decision of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Hyderabad Bench, to reject their claims.

Ex-servicemen challenge EPFO pay fixation

The petitioners had served in the Indian Army and Air Force for periods ranging from 18 to 20 years. They retired before reaching the age of 55 and later joined EPFO as Social Security Assistants under the ex-servicemen quota between 2006 and 2012.

They approached the High Court challenging the CAT Hyderabad Bench’s 2018 orders dismissing their original application and review application. Their main grievance was that EPFO had fixed their initial salaries without protecting the pay they had drawn in the Defence Services.

Dispute over rules for re-employed ex-servicemen

The petitioners relied on the Central Civil Services (Fixation of Pay of Re-employed Pensioners) Orders, 1986, along with amendments introduced through a Department of Personnel and Training memorandum dated April 5, 2010.

They referred to paragraph 4(d)(i), which provides for ignoring the entire pension and pension-equivalent retirement benefits while fixing the initial pay of certain ex-servicemen who retired before the age of 55 and held posts below the rank of Commissioned Officer. The petitioners argued that this provision entitled them to have their new salaries fixed based on their last-drawn defence pay.

The respondents disagreed, saying the rules did not provide for automatic protection of the last salary drawn in the Armed Forces.

Supreme Court ruling cited by Telangana HC

The High Court relied on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Union of India and Others v. Anil Prasad. It observed that the petitioners had failed to establish a legal right to have their EPFO salaries fixed at the same level as their last defence pay. The bench said the authorities had followed the applicable rules and instructions while determining their initial salaries.

Referring to the Supreme Court judgment, the High Court noted that the last-drawn defence pay serves as a ceiling and does not independently guarantee pay protection.