In Brief
An employee of Life Insurance Corporation of India resigned in 1990 before any pension scheme existed, later requesting pension when a scheme was introduced with retrospective effect. The Supreme Court held that an employee who resigned before a pension scheme came into force cannot claim pension benefits even if the scheme is made retrospectively applicable. The Court distinguished resignation from voluntary retirement, noting they have different legal meanings and conditions. Resignation terminates employment unilaterally without qualifying periods, while voluntary retirement is a statutory concept requiring specific conditions. The Court affirmed that pension schemes with forfeiture provisions for resignations cannot be expanded to include excluded categories, rejecting arguments that the schemes should apply retrospectively to resignees."
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