Justice for All One Pension, One Nation

On 19 May 2025, this Hon’ble Court rendered a landmark judgment declaring that “all retired High Court judges are entitled to full and equal pension, irrespective of the date they entered service” @EconomicTimes Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news . In upholding the principle of One Rank One Pension (OROP), Your Lordships rightly recognized that any post-retirement discrimination among judges would violate Article 14’s guarantee of equality before the law. If, Mi Lord, the Constitution commands equal treatment for retired High Court judges—men and women who have devoted decades to upholding justice—surely the same inviolable principle of equality must extend to the millions of public servants whose labour and sacrifice built this nation. 1. The Pillars of Our Nation Deserve Parity Central government employees, state servants, railway workers, defence personnel, teachers, healthcare workers, and countless others who served with equal dedication now subsist on pensions that vary wildly by cadre, date of retirement, and political dispensations. These pensioners are the very pillars of our republic who, having relinquished their pay, now face soaring inflation, rising medical costs, and the indignity of financial uncertainty in their twilight years. 2. Article 14: No Partiality in Retirement Your Lordships have affirmed that “where equal treatment is given … in service, any discrimination … for terminal benefits … would be violative of Article 14” Live Law . The principle of equality does not permit hierarchy among those who served under the same flag of the Constitution. To withhold uniform pension benefits from other pensioners is to draw arbitrary lines that undermine the very essence of fairness enshrined in our supreme law. 3. The Human Cost of Unequal Pensions Behind every figure in the pension ledger lies a story of lifelong service: a teacher who nurtured young minds, a railway employee who braved day and night to keep trains running, a defence veteran who guarded our borders. Today, many live in cramped quarters, delay medical treatment, or forgo basic dignity—all because their pensions, once promised as a modicum of security, fail to honour the constitutional promise of equality. 4. A Compassionate Extension of OROP Bharat Pensioners Samaj (BPS), representing over 1.3 million pensioners, humbly implores this Hon’ble Court to extend the relief granted to retired High Court judges to all central and state government pensioners: Uniform Pension Rates: Adopt a standard pension scale irrespective of service entry date or cadre. Parity in Family Pension: Ensure widows, widowers, and dependents of all pensioners receive equal family pension benefits. Cost-of-Living Adjustments: Mandate regular, constitutionally viable revisions to pensions in line with inflation. Conclusion Mi Lord, the Constitution’s promise of equality does not permit selective application. Just as our judiciary stands unified in post-retirement security, so too must our nation’s pensioners—those who built and served our republic—stand united under the shield of Article 14. We beseech Your Lordships to acknowledge that justice delayed for one is justice denied for all, and to extend the principle of equal pension to every corner of the public service.