In Brief
An Army officer (Major Bobby Joseph) was granted a substantive rank of Lt. Colonel in October 1991 but had retired in July 1991 as Major. He sought pension revision to the Lt. Colonel rank. The authorities rejected this, claiming he had not completed the required 21 years of service (he was 30 days short). The Supreme Court allowed his appeal, holding that the formal promotion order conferring substantive Lt. Colonel rank could not be negated by service shortfalls measured at retirement. The officer was entitled to pension at the higher rank and awarded costs of ₹50,000 as compensation for unnecessary litigation lasting nearly three decades.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.