V. KANNAPPAN vs ADDITIONAL SECY & ORS.(MIN.FIN&COM.AFRS)

The Supreme Court ruled that the Early Retirement Option 2003 (ERO 2003) qualifies as a voluntary retirement scheme under Regulation 2(ze) of the Bank of Madura Employees' Pension Regulation, 1995. The Court held that employees who retired under ERO 2003 are entitled to pension benefits as per the 1995 Regulations. The judgment affirmed the applicability of the pension scheme to the appellants, who were former employees of the Bank of Madura and had opted for voluntary retirement after the merger with ICICI Bank.