High Court of Himachal Pradesh Warns Government officials over delayed pension authorization
Shimla, Aug 4,
In a significant development, the High Court of Himachal Pradesh has issued a strong warning to the State Government and its departments for non-compliance with court orders concerning pension benefits. The matter came up in Execution Petition in the case Gurpal Singh and Others v. State of Himachal Pradesh and Another, where the Court took serious note of the delay in issuing Pension Payment Orders (PPOs) to eligible petitioners.
Justice Sandeep Sharma, presiding over the case, observed that although there was a clear judicial directive to grant pensions, the Accountant General’s office failed to extend the benefit to petitioners No. 3 and 4, citing a lack of “option exercised” for the pension scheme.
However, the Court emphasized that the petitioners had never opted for the New Pension Scheme (NPS) and had been consistently contributing to the General Provident Fund (GPF), making the argument for the need to “exercise an option” baseless.
“Once there was a positive direction to grant pension and the petitioners were under the old pension scheme, there was no occasion for them to exercise any further option,” stated Senior Advocate Mr. Dilip Sharma on behalf of the petitioners.
The Court termed the situation as a “clear-cut case of contempt”, but refrained from taking coercive action due to the “vehement request” of the counsel. Justice Sharma directed the Accountant General and State officials to issue PPOs by September 5, 2025, failing which the Court warned of stringent measures, including attachment of government property and withholding salaries of erring officials.
The next hearing is scheduled for September 5, 2025.
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