EX-SERVICEMEN WELFARE UNION vs UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.

Judgment text excerpt

$~ * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Reserved on: 9 September 2025 Pronounced on: 5 January 2026 + W.P.(C) 1049/2020 EX-SERVICEMEN WELFARE UNION .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Raju Ramachandran, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Vikas Aggarwal, Advocate versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS. .....Respondents Through: Mr. Rajesh Gogna, CGSC CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE C. HARI SHANKAR HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE OM PRAKASH SHUKLA JUDGMENT % 05.01.2026 C. HARI SHANKAR, J. 1. This writ petition raises, before this Court, a very limited issue, for the second time. 2. The lis, and prior history of the litigation 2.1 The dispute relates to order dated 16 October 2009 issued by the Cabinet Secretariat. Personnel Below Officer Rank1 in the Special Frontier Force2 were, by the said order, extended retired benefits at par 1 “PBORs”, hereinafter 2 "SFF", hereinafter Signature Not Verified W.P.(C) 1049/2020 Page 1 of 17 Digitally Signed By:AJIT KUMAR Signing Date:05.01.2026 16:24:48 with Group Y PBORs of the Indian Army. The order was, however, made effective from 1 January 2009. In other words, only PBORs of the SFF who retired on or after 1 January 2009 were, by the said order, granted pensionary benefits at par with the Indian Army. 2.2 The petitioner-Union seeks, by this writ petition, to espouse the cause of PBORs in the SFF who retired prior to 1 January 2009. The precise claim, in the writ petition, is that the fixation of 1 January 2009 as the cut-off date for being extended the benefit of the order dated 16 October 2009 is arbitrary, and that the benefit of the order should also extend to PBORs of the SFF who retired prior to 1 January 2009. 2.3 Espousing the very same cause, the petitioner-Union had earlier approached this Court by way of WP (C) 1335/20123. An earlier Division Bench of this Cour