It was on 17th December, 1982 that the Supreme Court delivered the historic judgment in D S Nakara case. The landmark judgment is considered as the Magna Carta of the pensioners. The Constitution bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Y V Chandrachud declared that

(i) ” Pension is neither a bounty nor a matter of grace depending upon the sweet will of the employer

(ii) Pension is not an ex gratia payment of past service rendered and

(iii) It is a social welfare measure rendering socioeconomic justice to those who in their heyday of their life ceaselessly toiled for the employer on an assurance that in their old age they would not be left in lurch. “

So the pensioners in India started celebrating the day of 17th December every year as National Pensioners Day as a mark of their appreciation to the milestone judgment and to remember late Shri D S Nakara.

This time, when we celebrate the National Pensioners Day, the pensioners in the country are facing many challenges threatening the very relevance of the Supreme Court judgment. So let us observe the day jointly with other pensioners organisations and deliberate the issues with the seriousness it deserve so that the pensioners are made prepared for the militant struggle in the days to come.