In Brief
The State of Manipur issued an office memorandum revising government pension, but applied different (lower) percentage increases to employees who retired before 1 January 1996 and higher percentages to those retiring after that date. A Single Judge held this classification violated Article 14 (equality). The High Court Division Bench reversed, accepting the State's financial constraint as justification. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that all pensioners form one class and must be treated equally. Financial constraints cannot justify arbitrary differentiation among similarly situated pensioners. The Court distinguished prior cases and applied D.S. Nakara principles, ordering all pre-1996 retirees receive the same revised pension as post-1996 retirees, with arrears payable within three months.",
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