The Supreme Court on Monday declared that pension constitutes an enforceable constitutional right and a hard-earned benefit accumulated through long and continuous service, not a discretionary benefit dependent on employer convenience. A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and A G Masih ruled that temporary casual labourers in government departments are entitled to pensionary benefits upon superannuation regardless of whether their positions have been regularised.

The landmark decision emerged from an 18-year legal battle involving a widow from Bihar whose husband worked as a casual labourer in a post office for three decades. The case proceeded through multiple levels of litigation including the central administrative tribunal, Patna High Court, and the Supreme Court, ultimately ruling in the widow's favour and rejecting the Centre's plea.

The Court rejected the government's argument that granting pension benefits would impose financial burden, emphasising that pension represents deferred wages earned through years of service rather than a matter of grace or financial convenience for the employer. The bench stated that employees who have provided continuous and essential service over extended periods cannot be denied benefits available to regular employees merely due to nomenclature differences.

Justices Karol and Masih stressed that the government should function as a model employer and that any classification resulting in benefit denial to employees with similar duties and responsibilities would violate constitutional principles. The ruling affirms that distinctions in employment status cannot justify withholding pensionary benefits from workers whose service contributions are substantial and continuous.