Citation: 2025 INSC 1403
Case: Mukut Das v. Assam Power Generation Corporation Ltd. & Ors.
Court: Supreme Court of India
Date of Judgment: 4 December 2025
Bench: Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice K. Vinod Chandran
Background
The appeals concerned employees of the Assam State Electricity Board and its successor companies who attained the age of superannuation (60 years) in March 2016. By virtue of Fundamental Rule 56(a), their retirement was extended to the afternoon of 31 March 2016.
In 2017, the State notified the Assam State Electricity Board and its Successor Companies Revised Pay Rules, 2017, which applied revised pay scales to:
- Employees in service as on 31 March 2016, and
- Employees appointed on or after 1 April 2016.
The appellants claimed entitlement to the revised pay, pension, and consequential benefits. While a Single Judge of the High Court allowed the claim, the Division Bench reversed the decision, prompting the appeals before the Supreme Court.
Core Issue
Whether employees who attained the age of superannuation in March 2016 but retired on 31 March 2016 by operation of FR 56(a) can be treated as “in service” on that date and thus be entitled to pay revision under the 2017 Rules.
Arguments
- Appellants:
- FR 56(a) clearly extends service till the last day of the month of attaining 60 years.
- Since the Rules of 2017 apply to employees in service on 31.03.2016, they are entitled to the revised pay.
- Under Rule 5(2) of the CCS (Pension) Rules, the date of retirement is treated as the last working day.
- Respondents:
- Pay revision was intended only for those continuing in service beyond 01.04.2016.
- Pension revision provisions indicated exclusion of those who retired on or before 31.03.2016.
- Reliance was placed on K.J. George v. BSNL and Union of India v. G.C. Yadav.
Supreme Court’s Analysis
The Supreme Court made several important findings:
- FR 56(a) unambiguously provides that retirement occurs on the last day of the month, not on the date of attaining the age of 60.
- The rule does not create a fiction limiting continuation only for pay and allowances.
- Rule 5(2) of the CCS (Pension) Rules treats the date of superannuation as a working day, meaning the employee remains in service on that day.
- The Court distinguished K.J. George and G.C. Yadav, noting that those cases involved employees who retired before the effective date of pay revision.
- A three-judge bench decision in S. Banerjee v. Union of India supported the principle that benefits accruing on the date of retirement are available to employees in service on that date.
- The 2017 Rules explicitly granted pay revision to all employees in service on 31.03.2016, which squarely covered the appellants.
Decision
The Supreme Court:
- Set aside the Division Bench judgment of the High Court.
- Restored the Single Judge’s decision.
- Held that the appellants were in service on 31 March 2016 and therefore entitled to:
- Revised pay for March 2016,
- Recalculation of pension based on revised pay,
- Arrears of pay and pension.
Directions Issued
- Arrears to be paid within six months.
- Revised pension to commence from February 2026.
- Delay beyond six months to attract 6% interest per year, recoverable from officers responsible for the delay.
Significance of the Judgment
This judgment decisively clarifies that:
- Superannuation takes effect on the last day of the month under FR 56(a).
- Employees retiring on the cut-off date for pay revision are entitled to revised pay and pension.
- Administrative interpretations cannot override clear statutory rules.
The ruling has wide implications for pay revision disputes involving cut-off dates, especially in public sector and state-controlled entities.
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