Facts:

• The Appellants were the State Bank of India and others and the Respondent was Radhey Shyam Pandey, a retired employee of SBI.
• The Voluntary Retirement Scheme ( hereinafter referred to as 'VRS') was approved by the Central Board of Directors of SBI after obtaining approval from the Government of India.
• The scheme allowed permanent employees with at least 15 years of service as of 31.12.2000 to opt for voluntary retirement. Benefits included gratuity, provident fund contributions, pension, and leave encashment.
• SBI issued a clarification on 15.1.2001 stating that employees needed 20 years of pensionable service to be eligible for pension, causing confusion and disputes.
• The Respondent had retired after completing 19 years and nine months of service, and he was denied pension benefits stating that the employees needed to complete 20 years of service to be eligible for pension benefits.
• The Respondent filed a writ in the Allahabad High Court challenging SBI’s refusal to pay pension. The High Court ruled in his favour.
• The matter was therefore appealed to the Supreme Court due to conflicting opinions between the judges regarding the pension entitlement under the VRS.
• Hence, the matter was referred to a larger Bench for resolution.
  

Background/Procedural Posture:

• The Allahabad High Court ruled in favour of Radhey Shyam Pandey, affirming his entitlement to pension benefits under the SBI Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS).
• The court found that the Respondent met the eligibility criteria under Rule 22(i)(a) of SBI Employees’ Pension Fund Rules and had served for ten years and retiring at age 58.
• SBI’s internal clarifications were deemed unfair and arbitrary, violating Article 14 of the Constitution of India.
• The Court disregarded the bank's clarification outside the VRS terms, affirming Pandey's contractual entitlement to pension benefits.
• Due to divergent interpretations, the case was filed before the Supreme Court, where it was consolidated with other civil appeals to ensure a uniform interpretation of the State Bank of India VRS
  (Paragraph 9)

Main Issues:

1. Whether employees were entitled to a pension upon completing 15 years of permanent service under the approved scheme of the Central Board of SBI?
2. Whether the denial of pension benefits to employees was unfair and arbitrary, contrary to the fundamental terms of the scheme? (Paragraph 15)