New Delhi, Nov 4: The Supreme Court has upheld the 'pay minus pension' rule for retired government servants appointed to head or sit on a state Public Service Commission, ruling that a person who accepts a post cannot afterwards challenge the service conditions attached to it, Verdictum reported. A Bench of Justices S.V.N. Bhatti and N.V. Anjaria allowed the State of Uttarakhand's appeals in State of Uttarakhand v. M.C. Bhandari and Another (2026 INSC 1194), upholding Regulation 7(2) of the Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (Conditions of Service) Regulations, 2004.

Source: Verdictum

"One who participates in a game, cannot later challenge the rules of the game," the Bench held, according to Verdictum. "Similarly, a Government servant or an employee, who accepts the post cannot afterwards be permitted to resile from or to agitate in respect of the service conditions and the service regulations attached to the post which he accepted." The Court clarified that the pension is not withdrawn — it is kept in abeyance during the tenure and revives when the Chairman or Member leaves office, LawChakra reported.

Source: LawChakra

The dispute

Lieutenant General (Retired) M.C. Bhandari was appointed Chairman of the Uttarakhand PSC in 2006 after retiring from the Indian Army; his basic salary was fixed at Rs 26,000 a month, from which Rs 17,627 — his military pension — was deducted. In the connected case, former state civil service officer Sohan Lal became a Member on a basic salary of Rs 22,500, reduced by his pension of Rs 11,025, Verdictum and LawChakra reported.

The Uttarakhand High Court had, on April 15, 2010, declared Regulation 7(2) unconstitutional under Article 14 read with Article 39(d) (equal pay for equal work) and ordered reimbursement of the deductions. The Supreme Court set aside both High Court judgments, holding that the equal-pay doctrine had no application to the withholding of a previously earned pension and that the High Court had misdirected itself, CourtBook reported. The ruling settles a 15-year-old appeal and confirms that states may apply the pay-minus-pension adjustment to retired officials appointed to constitutional commissions. Sources: Verdictum (November 5, 2026), LawChakra and CourtBook (judgment of November 4, 2026).