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Asger Ibrahim Amin v. Life Insurance Corporation of India

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 10251 of 2014)Decided 12 Oct 2015
Civil Appeal No. 10251 of 2014
Justice Vikramajit Sen · Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre

Background

The appellant joined LIC in 1967 and, after about 23 years and 7 months of service, resigned in 1991 for family reasons and poor health. LIC waived the three-month notice period. Under LIC's pension rules, which came into force in 1995 with retrospective effect from 1993, resignation results in forfeiture of pension. He only pressed for pension much later, sending a legal notice in 2011 and filing a writ petition in 2012. The High Court rejected his claim on grounds of delay and on merits.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal. It held that a resignation after long service, accepted with the employer's waiver of notice, was in substance a voluntary retirement under Rule 31 of the Pension Rules, so the pension could not be forfeited merely because the employee used the word "resignation". The Court followed Union of India v. Tarsem Singh (2008) and held that a pension claim is a continuing wrong, so delay does not automatically extinguish it. However, because the delay of many years was not explained, arrears were limited to the three years before the petition was filed in the High Court. The pension was made payable only once the appellant refunded LIC's provident-fund contribution with interest, and the refund could be adjusted against the arrears.

Lesson Learnt

The legal substance of a decision matters more than its label, so a resignation after long service may be treated as retirement for pension purposes. A pension claim can be pursued even after a long gap, but late claimants may only recover a limited amount of back pay, so claims should be raised promptly.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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