SC Affirms Second Pension for DSC Personnel, Allows Service Shortfall Condonation

In a landmark judgment affirming the rights of re-enrolled veterans, the Supreme Court on 24 March 2026, in Union of India & Ors. v. Balakrishnan Mullikote[1], has held that personnel of the defence security corps (“DSC”) are eligible for a second service pension. Bench of Hon’ble Justice Manoj Misra and Hon’ble Justice Manmohan ruled that there is no legal bar to receiving a second pension for DSC service, even if the individual is already drawing a pension from their previous tenure in the regular army.

The DSC primarily consists of retired armed forces personnel re-enrolled to secure defence installations. Upon joining the DSC, personnel are given two irrevocable options i.e., continue drawing their existing army pension and treat DSC service as a distinct, independent engagement or cease the existing pension, refund the amounts received, and count former service toward a single composite pension.

The respondents in this case had opted for the first option. However, the union government rejected their claims for a second pension because they had fallen short of the mandatory fifteen-year qualifying period by margins ranging from a few days to several months. The union government argued that condonation of shortfall (up to one year) applied only to a single pension and not to a second spell of service.

The Supreme Court rejected the union’s arguments, emphasizing the ‘separate and distinct’ nature of DSC employment. The court noted that the entitlement to a DSC pension does not arise from a continuous spell of employment but from a ‘distinct and independent engagement’ under the Army Act, 1950. The bench clarified that paragraph 125 of the pension regulations, 1961 (and paragraph 44 of the 2008 regulations) expressly provides for the condonation of a shortfall in qualifying service up to one year. The court held that there is no inconsistency between the general provisions for condonation and the rules governing DSC service. Therefore, it is not open to the government to deny these benefits to DSC personnel through executive letters or restrictive interpretations. This ruling provides significant financial relief to thousands of DSC personnel who transitioned from the regular army to specialized security roles. By upholding the rounding-off and condonation principles, the court has ensured that technical deficiencies in service length do not deprive veterans of a ‘second service pension’ earned through a second, independent career. It reinforces the principle that re-enrolment in the DSC is a fresh contract of service, carrying its own statutory rewards.

[1] (2026 SSC OnLine SC 464),