LUCKNOW, April 4 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has stayed the judgment of a single-judge bench that had given the benefit of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) to several temporary and work-charged employees who were regularised after the introduction of the New Pension Scheme (NPS) on April 1, 2005, warranting a huge financial burden on the state exchequer. A division bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary passed the interim order on April 2, 2026, while hearing around 40 special appeals filed by the public works department challenging the November 4, 2025 verdict of the single-judge bench. The single-judge bench in its verdict had ordered the state to give the benefit of OPS to temporary and work-charged employees by combining all their services, even if their regular appointment was made after April 1, 2005. It was submitted on behalf of the state government that the decision contradicted previous two-judge bench decisions. The state government specifically cited the decision of the Ashok Tiwari case. It also contended that the single-judge bench lacked the authority to declare the two-judge bench decision invalid. It was also pointed out that some of the other decisions relied upon by the single-judge bench had been subsequently overturned by a two-judge bench. The court also came across that the validity of the Uttar Pradesh Pension Amendment Act, 2021 was currently pending before the Supreme Court. Hearing the special appeals, the bench, prima-facie held that the special appeals raised serious legal questions and required a detailed hearing on all aspects before a final decision. The division bench directed that the matter be listed for the next hearing on April 27. htc...