ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court of Pakistan has turned down the Lahore High Court (LHC) verdict about paying minimum pension to the reservist in the Pakistan Army.

A two-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, had heard the Controller Military Accounts (Pension) Lahore Cantonment and others appeals against Muhammad Sabir (respondent) and others.

The LHC, Rawalpindi Bench, in its judgment had directed the appellants on 18-06-2019 to pay the minimum pension to the respondent and set aside the notifications dated 27.05.1989, 14.11.2008 and 09.07.2009 denying the minimum pension to the respondent.

Muhammad Sabir was a reservist in the Pakistan Army and was discharged. He was being paid special pension payable to reservists as per the Pension Regulations of Armed Forces. The Federal Government issued Office Memorandum dated 01.07.1988, by which the minimum pension was fixed at Rs.300/- per month. Through a further Office Memorandums dated 02.07.2008, the minimum pension was increased to Rs.2,000/- per month, then to Rs.3,000/- per month from 05.07.2010 and to Rs.5,000/- per month from 16.07.2013.

The minimum pension was not allowed to the respondent, who then filed a writ petition in the LHC. Controller Military Accounts (Pension) challenged the High Court judgment in the Supreme Court. The judgment authored by CJP Gulzar Ahmed noted that reservists comprise reserve forces created by the Pakistan (Army and Air Force) Reserves Act, 1950 with their rules of service by the name of the Pakistan Army Reserve Rules, 1974. The Reserve Force of the Pakistan Army is a distinct force from the regular Pakistan Army Force created under the Pakistan Army Act, 1952. This narration itself shows that a reservist or Reserve Force is a distinct class of force from that of a regular Pakistan Army Force. 

The SC judgment said that the High Court did not consider the matter in the light of the applicable facts and laws and thus, passed the judgment, which is not sustainable in law. Consequently, the appeal is allowed and the impugned judgment is set aside.

It said that the respondent being a fixed rated pensioner, was not entitled to the minimum pension, for that, the scheme of minimum pension does not fit, in the scheme of fix rated pension.  The apex court noted that while announcing minimum pension by the Office Memorandums, the federal government did not change or alter the fixed rates of pensions of reservists as prescribed by the Army Pension Code. As from time to time the Army Pension Code has been amended by the federal government and the last mentioned amendment appears to have been made in 2010, where Army Reservists are shown to be entitled to fix rate of special pension.