Railway Employees Are Central Government Servants; Their Railway Service Cannot Be Ignored Just Because Separate Railway Rules Apply

Case Name: Bency John v. Kerala State Electricity Board Ltd. & Ors.

Citation: 2026 INSC 562

Date of Judgment/Order: 26 May 2026

Bench: Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma

Held: The Supreme Court held that a railway servant does not stop being a Central Government servant merely because railway employees are governed by separate railway service rules. The Court clarified that Railways is part of the Government of India, railway servants hold civil posts in connection with the affairs of the Union, and the Railway Board functions as the Government of India for railway administration. Therefore, if a benefit is available for previous regular pensionable Central Government service, railway service cannot be excluded only on the ground that railway employees are not governed by the ordinary Central Civil Services Rules.

Summary: The appellant, Bency John, had served in the Indian Railways for more than ten years before joining the Kerala State Electricity Board as Sub-Engineer. The Railways remitted pro-rata pension liability to the Board, and the appellant’s service book also recorded that his railway service would be counted for pension. The Board’s own orders and long-term settlements allowed previous regular pensionable Central Government service followed by Board service to be counted for weightage. On that basis, the appellant was granted weightage for pay fixation and other benefits. However, in 2012, the Board cancelled the benefit and ordered recovery, claiming that railway service could not be treated as Central Government service for weightage. The Single Judge allowed the appellant’s writ petition, but the Division Bench reversed it, holding that railway servants are governed by separate rules and not by the CCS Rules. The Supreme Court rejected this reasoning and held that separate railway service rules exist only for administrative convenience and do not change the legal status of railway employees as Union civil servants.

Decision: The Supreme Court allowed the appeals, set aside the Kerala High Court Division Bench orders dated 19.08.2019, and restored the Single Judge’s judgment dated 21.03.2017 in favour of the appellant. The Court held that the appellant was entitled to the benefits granted under the Board Orders and that no benefit already accrued in his favour could be withdrawn. The Court directed that all benefits flowing from the restored Single Judge judgment be granted within three months from production of an authenticated copy of the Supreme Court judgment. The Court also observed that if similarly situated employee D. Vishnu Nampoothiri approaches the Board for similar relief, the Board should not discriminate against him.