In Brief
The Supreme Court decided whether employees who resigned from public sector institutions before retrospectively-effective pension schemes came into force could later claim pension benefits under those schemes. The Court held that resignation and voluntary retirement are legally distinct. Resignation terminates employment and forfeits past service benefits; voluntary retirement is a statutory condition available only after prescribed qualifying service. Since pension regulations themselves provide that resignation entails forfeiture of service, applying retrospective rules to resigned employees would be self-defeating. The Court allowed the LIC appeal regarding Shree Lal Meena (while protecting already-paid amounts) but dismissed appeals by employees of United India Insurance and Andhra Bank who had resigned before pension schemes existed.
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