SC rules no pension for quitting before 25 years of service

The Supreme Court's Appeal Division has ruled that government employees who resign before completing 25 years of service are not entitled to pension benefits. The ruling overturned a previous High Court decision.

The three-member bench, led by Justice Md Rezaul Haque, passed the judgment on March 11. The full 28-page verdict, authored by Justice Farah Mahbub, was published on the Supreme Court website on July 9.

The case involved Mahbub Morshed, who joined the judicial service as an assistant judge in 1991. He resigned voluntarily on January 31, 2011, after completing 19 years of service. He had sought 61 per cent pension and gratuity based on his 19 years of service.

In 2015, the Comptroller's office stated that resignation results in forfeiture of past service for pension purposes under BSR Part I, Rule 300, Section 3. The High Court had ruled in Morshed's favour in 2021, declaring the government's decision unlawful.

The Appeal Division, however, ruled that the legislature had enacted provisions on "prudent and rational consideration" that employees who resign before completing 25 years of service are not entitled to benefits.