#equality before law

CAT Principal Bench rules that denying full pension and gratuity to a retired government servant due to a pending criminal case unrelated to official duties is illegal and violates Article 21. The Tribunal directed payment within three months, emphasizing that provisional pension alone is insufficient and discriminatory when co-accused received full benefits. This sets a precedent for fair treatment under service law and pension jurisprudence.

The Supreme Court has ruled that paying higher dearness allowance to serving employees than dearness relief to pensioners, despite both compensating for the same inflation, constitutes arbitrary classification under Article 14. This landmark decision mandates uniform inflation adjustment for all public sector beneficiaries, impacting millions of pensioners across state and central governments.

The Jharkhand High Court struck down any claim to state land based solely on prior political office, ruling that such preferential treatment violates constitutional equality. This sets a critical precedent for public resource allocation, ensuring that land grants must follow objective, non-discriminatory criteria-not personal influence or status.

Rajasthan High Court rules that denying an employer legal representation while permitting it for the workman violates Article 14 and principles of natural justice. The judgment mandates equitable treatment in industrial dispute proceedings, impacting all statutory bodies and private employers.

The Rajasthan High Court has ruled that denying a woman a Special Bonafide Resident Certificate solely because she moved out of a Tribal Sub-Plan area after marriage violates Article 14 and undermines the very purpose of the certificate, which is tied to ancestral residence, not marital relocation. This sets a critical precedent protecting the land and welfare rights of married women from patriarchal administrative practices in tribal regions.