Delhi High Court rules BSNL/MTNL absorbed DoT employees not eligible for 7th CPC pension revision

The Delhi High Court has ruled that former Department of Telecommunications (DoT) employees who opted for permanent absorption in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) are not entitled to pension revision under the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC).

Allowing the DoT's appeal, a division bench of Justices Om Prakash Shukla and C. Hari Shankar set aside a September 2023 order of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which had directed the government to revise the pension of these employees in line with the 7th CPC.

The court held that such employees are governed by Rule 37A of the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972, which provides a special statutory framework for government servants permanently absorbed in public sector undertakings (PSUs).


Under Rule 37A, once an employee opts for permanent absorption in a PSU, he or she ceases to be a government employee, the government post stands abolished, and the employee becomes subject to the service rules and pay structure of the PSU.

The bench noted that the employees in question were shifted to the Industrial Dearness Allowance (IDA) pay regime after joining BSNL and MTNL and were therefore governed by the recommendations of the Pay Revision Committee (PRC), not the Central Pay Commission.

"We accordingly hold that neither Rule 37A nor any of the Office Memoranda relied upon by the respondents confer a right upon combined service pensioners governed by the IDA regime to claim revision of pension pursuant to the recommendations of the 7th CPC," the court said.