In Brief
The Supreme Court upheld the Union Government's implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) policy as adopted on 7 November 2015. The Court rejected the argument that periodic revision of pension every five years (instead of automatic revision) was arbitrary. It held that while the government had announced in-principle acceptance of OROP in 2014, the specific modalities were still evolving and were only finalized on 7 November 2015. The use of average 2013 pension as the base for calculating prior retirees' pensions was a valid protective policy choice. The Court distinguished earlier pension cases and held that varying pension amounts for officers of the same rank retiring at different times, due to MACP schemes or different base salary calculations, does not constitute arbitrary discrimination. The doctrine of legitimate expectations did not apply as there was no concrete policy prior to 7 November 2015. The Court directed that a re-fixation exercise be carried out from 1 July 2019.
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