Defence Security Corps Personnel Eligible For Second Pension; Shortfall Up To One Year Can Be Condoned: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on March 24 held that personnel of the Defence Security Corps (DSC) who are already drawing pension from their earlier service in the Army are eligible to earn a second service pension for their subsequent DSC service, and any shortfall in qualifying service up to one year can be condoned in accordance with the Pension Regulations. The Court clarified that there is no legal bar on grant of a second pension merely because the individual is already receiving pension from the first spell of service.

A bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Manmohan dismissed a batch of appeals preferred by the Union Government, against the grant of a second pension to the Defence Security Corps, noting that the entitlement to pension arising out of services at DSC “does not arise from the same service, post, or continuous spell of employment, but from a distinct and independent engagement.”

Thus, the claim for DSC pension cannot be rejected merely because the personnel was already in receipt of the regular army pension, the court observed.

The Court rejected the Union's contention that DSC personnel must mandatorily complete 15 years or more of service to qualify for a second pension. Instead, it held that where the service falls short by up to one year, the government has the power to condone the deficiency and treat the personnel as eligible for pension.

“If, upon determination of the length of qualifying service, there remains a shortfall of one year or less, the Respondents shall be entitled to seek condonation of such deficiency for the purpose of pension eligibility, in accordance with Paragraph 125 of the Pension Regulations, 1961 or Paragraph 44 of the Pension Regulations, 2008.”, the court observed, citing Union of India v. Surender Singh Parmar, (2015) 3 SCC 404.

The Case

The Defence Security Corps is a Corps of the Indian Army constituted under the Army Act, 1950, comprising retired Armed Forces personnel re-enrolled to provide security to defence installations. Recruitment to the DSC comprises 75 per cent ex-Army, 1 per cent ex-Navy/Air Force, and 24 per cent ex-Territorial Army personnel.

When a retired Army personnel joins the DSC, they are given two irrevocable options: either to continue drawing their existing pension and treat their DSC service as independent, requiring 15 years of actual service for a second pension; or to cease drawing pension, refund the pension already received, and have their former service counted towards a single composite pension.

All respondents in the present batch had opted for the first option i.e., continuing to draw their Regular Army pension while seeking a separate second pension from their DSC service. However, many had fallen short of the prescribed 15 years of DSC service by margins ranging from a few days to several months.

The respondents claimed rounding off of service (treating 3–6 months as half-year) and condonation of shortfall up to 12 months under the Pension Regulations.

The Union of India opposed this, arguing that DSC rules require actual 15 years of service and that condonation applies only to a single pension, relying on executive letters issued in 2017 and 2022 barring such benefit for a second pension.

Aggrieved by the different High Courts' and Tribunals decision to uphold the DSC personnel's claim, the Union appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision

Affirming the impugned rulings, the judgment authored by Justice Manmohan observed that “the second spell of service in the DSC is separate and distinct from the first spell in the Regular Army.”, therefore, upheld the rounding-off and condonation of shortfall in DSC service for grant of second pension.

“condonation of shortfall in DSC service is therefore entirely consistent with the scheme of the Army Regulations and does not create any inconsistency.”, the court observed.

The Court rejected the Union's contention that condonation of shortfall does not apply to DSC pensions, holding instead that the general condonation provisions under the Pension Regulations fully apply to DSC service, and therefore no inconsistency exists to deny the claim for a second pension.

“...in the absence of any inconsistency between the provisions for condonation and those dealing with DSC service, it is not open to the Appellants to contend that Paragraph 125 of the 1961 Regulations and Paragraph 44 of the 2008 Regulations, which expressly provide for condonation of shortfall in service, are inapplicable to DSC personnel.”, the court observed.

Accordingly, all appeals by the Union of India were dismissed, while upholding the entitlement of DSC personnel to a second pension, and directions to the Union for recalculation of the length of the service and grant of benefits.

Cause Title: UNION OF INDIA & ORS. VERSUS BALAKRISHNAN MULLIKOTE (EX HAV 256812 M) (with connected appeals)

Citation : 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 292

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Appearance:

For Petitioner(s) :Ms. Archana Pathak Dave, A.S.G. Mr. Mukesh Kumar Maroria, AOR Mr. Jagdish Chandra, Adv. Mr. Kamal Digpaul, Adv. Mr. Digvijay Dam, Adv. Ms. Priyanka Tyagi, Adv.

For Respondent(s) :