SC for equal DA/DR to pensioners, employees

The SC has ruled that a State cannot grant pensioners a lower increase in Dearness Relief (DR) than the Dearness Allowance (DA) paid to serving employees, saying such differentiation is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.

- FPJ News Service

A Bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Prasanna B Varale said that inflation affects both serving and retired employees equally, and there is no valid reason to treat them differently in the rate of increase of DA and DR, Bar & Bench reports.

“Indisputably, inflation hits both serving and retired employees with equal force. Therefore, differentiating the two in the rate of increase of DA and DR has no rational nexus to the object sought to be achieved,” the Court said.