The Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan (FCCP) on Friday held that no administrative circular can override or limit a law passed by Parliament or any of its schedules, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
The ruling came in a significant decision concerning the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI), marking a major development in pension rights for thousands of private workers.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, and comprising Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Arshad Hussain Shah, delivered the judgment while dismissing multiple appeals filed by EOBI.
The court upheld earlier judgments of the Lahore High Court.
In its verdict, the court ruled that employees who have completed 14 years and six months or more of insurable employment are entitled to a monthly old-age pension.
It held that under the schedule attached to the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Act, 1976, any period of insurable employment of six months or more must be counted as a full year, and this principle applies to pension eligibility as well as pension calculation.
The court emphasized that EOBI is a welfare institution and welfare laws must be interpreted in favour of employees.
Denying a lifelong pension due to a shortfall of a few months, it said, violates justice and constitutional principles.
The bench declared the EOBI circular issued in 2022 ineffective, noting that administrative instructions cannot curtail statutory rights. It observed that the 2019 circular — which treated six months as a full year — was lawful and the rights accrued under it could not later be withdrawn.
Concluding the judgment, the Federal Constitutional Court ordered EOBI to grant monthly old-age pensions to all affected employees, calling it a vital legal development for workers nationwide.
Reporter: Hashir Warraich