By Legum Pacific Editorial ·
What happened in a simple situation?
Imagine a long-serving daily-wage skilled worker in a state department who retires on 30 June. The next day, 1 July, an annual increment (a scheduled pay increase) falls due. The worker believes the increment should be counted for pension and other retiral benefits. The employer says no, because the worker was a “daily wager”. This kind of dispute reached the Supreme Court.
What does the law and earlier rulings say?
That ratio was later applied in another case, M. Siddaraj. After those decisions, this Court clarified how they would operate for others: one set of directions said the judgment would apply from the date it was given; other directions said people who had already filed writ petitions and won would have the benefit as res judicata; and a modified direction allowed enhanced pension by including one increment for three years prior to the month in which a writ petition or intervention was filed.
For the specific class of workers in the Gujarat case, a Government Resolution dated 17 October 1988 is important. That resolution treated certain daily-wage skilled workers, who had completed at least ten years’ service by 1 October 1988, as permanent for pay-scale and retiral benefits. It fixed their age of superannuation at 60 and said periods spent in that employment would be pensionable.
What did the Supreme Court decide in this case?
The case is Chhaganbhai Kohyabhai Pateliya v. The State of Gujarat & Anr., decided by a Bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva on 6 October 2026 (C.A. No. 13454 of 2026, 2026 INSC 1088).
The Court held that the appellants, who were long-serving daily-wage skilled workers covered by the 1988 Government Resolution, could not be denied the benefit of the increment merely because they were “daily wagers”. Because the Resolution had treated them as permanent for pay and pension purposes, the increment rule in C.P. Mundinamani applied to them.
The Court also applied the modified directions given earlier by this Court about how far back enhanced pension (by including one increment) would be payable. The appellants had filed their writ petition in 2022, so they fell within the clause that allows enhanced pension for the three years prior to the month in which the writ petition was filed. The Court ordered the authorities to examine each appellant’s case, work out the amounts payable under the modified direction, and release the sums within 30 days. If payment was not made within 30 days, interest at 6% per annum would be payable from then until payment.
The Court noted its earlier ruling in a different case that ordinarily no interest would be payable on arrears, but stressed that authorities must respect time limits in court or tribunal orders; failure would attract interest as ordered here.
What does this mean for ordinary people and employers?
- Long-serving daily-wage skilled workers who were treated as permanent by a government order may be entitled to an increment that fell due immediately after retirement, and that increment can affect pension and other retiral benefits.
- If a retired employee filed a writ petition before the date set by the Court’s earlier orders, enhanced pension by counting one increment may be payable for a limited retrospective period (the Court applied a three-year look-back where the petition was filed in 2022).
- Employers (state authorities) will need to check each retired worker’s file, recalculate pension and other benefits where applicable, and pay arrears. The Court ordered payment within 30 days and set 6% interest per annum for delay after that.
How long will the process take?
The Supreme Court directed the authorities to complete verification, calculation and payment within 30 days from the judgment. If payment is not made within that time, interest at 6% a year must be paid from the end of the 30 days until payment.
Key points
- A 1988 Government Resolution treated some long-serving daily-wage skilled workers as permanent for pay and pension purposes. They can qualify for post-retirement increments.
- The Supreme Court applied its earlier rulings and allowed enhanced pension by including one increment for those covered, subject to the three-year look-back where the writ was filed in 2022.
- Authorities must calculate and pay arrears within 30 days; default attracts interest at 6% p.a. from that date.
- The case: Chhaganbhai Kohyabhai Pateliya v. The State of Gujarat & Anr., C.A. No. 13454 of 2026, 2026 INSC 1088 (Bench: Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva, JJ.).
Source: Supreme Court of India (official judgment) (opens in a new tab) · Chhaganbhai Kohyabhai Pateliya v. The State of Gujarat & Anr., C.A. No. 13454 of 2026, 2026 INSC 1088