The Himachal Pradesh High Court has issued a ruling that mandates the state assembly to disburse pension payments and any outstanding arrears to two former Congress MLAs, Rajinder Rana and Ravi Thakur, who transitioned to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2024. This decision poses a challenge to the Congress-led government.
Rajinder Rana, representing Sujanpur, and Ravi Thakur from Lahaul and Spiti were stripped of their legislative positions for breaching the party whip. This whip was enforced following an incident of cross-voting during the Rajya Sabha elections, where Congress candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi was defeated by BJP’s Harsh Mahajan, despite Congress holding a majority in the assembly in February 2024.
The case carries significant political weight, as both Rana and Thakur were disqualified under anti-defection laws prior to their switch to the BJP, which contributed to a political crisis within the state.
The High Court’s decision clarifies that their entitlement to pension cannot be denied based on laws that do not have retroactive application, thereby underscoring the principle that legislative amendments affecting benefits must adhere to specified temporal boundaries.
On April 7, a Division Bench consisting of Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Ranjan Sharma resolved the petitions filed by Rana and Thakur, instructing the Secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha to process the “due and admissible pension” along with any arrears within one month.
Additionally, the court stipulated that the Secretary of the Vidhan Sabha would incur a liability to pay interest at a rate of 6 percent per annum from the date the payment was due until it is settled, should the assembly fail to comply within the designated timeframe. The court also mandated that future pension disbursements be made promptly.
During the hearing, the Vidhan Sabha’s counsel submitted documentation dated April 7 from the Assembly Secretary, which clarified the legal context regarding pension rights for disqualified legislators. This communication indicated that a prior legislative attempt — the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Allowances and Pension of Members) Amendment Bill, 2024 — aimed at disqualifying pension benefits for disqualified MLAs, has been withdrawn by the state government.
A new amendment, the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Allowances and Pension of Members) Amendment Bill, 2026, has since been approved. This new legislation specifies that MLAs elected to the 14th Legislative Assembly and afterwards will not be eligible for pension if disqualified under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. Importantly, the Assembly clarified that this law is designed to be prospective and does not have retroactive effects.
The Assembly Secretary further informed the court that both petitioners, Rana and Thakur, were elected during the 12th and 13th Legislative Assemblies, thus exempting them from the newly enacted provisions. “According to the new Bill’s stipulations, both petitioners remain eligible for pensions for their previous terms,” the Secretary conveyed to the court. It was also noted that the 2026 amendment is pending approval from the Governor.
Rana and Thakur were part of a group of six Congress MLAs who joined the BJP following their disqualification. The other four included Sudhir Sharma from Dharamshala, Inderdutt Lakhanpal from Barsar, Chaitanya Sharma from Gagret, and Davinder Bhutto from Kutlehar. While Sudhir Sharma and Inderdutt Lakhanpal successfully won their by-elections in June 2024, the others, including Rana and Thakur, were not successful in their bids. All six ran in the by-elections as BJP candidates.
