JUDGMENT

Brijesh Kumar, J.-This Petition has been filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India by the pensioners all of whom are said to be over 75 years of age and had been serving the Assam Oil Company Limited, having retired on or before October 13, 1981. These petitioners claim benefit of the revised pension scheme as made admissible to the retirees of Indian Oil Corporation without any distinction or cut-off date of retirement.

2. The Assam Oil Company Ltd. as well as the Burmah Oil Company Limited were nationalized and taken over by the Government of India by virtue of the Burmah Oil Company (Acquisition of Shares of Oil India Ltd. and of the undertakings in India of Assam Oil Company Limited and the Burmah Oil Co. (India Trading Ltd.) Act, 1981 (hereinafter to be referred to as the Act ). As per provisions of Section 5 of the Act, with effect from the appointed date, namely 14.10.1981 the right, title and interest of the said companies in relation to their undertakings in India were to be transferred and vested in the Central Government. Under sub-section (1) of Section 6 of the Act, the undertakings of the companies would be deemed to include all assets, rights, powers, books of accounts, records etc. including the borrowings, liabilities including the liability for the payment of taxes, if any, and for the payment of any pension and other pensionary benefits to the persons employed in relation to its undertakings in India etc. By virtue of Section 9 of the Act the undertakings vested in the Central Government, instead of continuing to be so, could later be vested in one or more government companies. There is no dispute about the fact that the Assam Oil Company Limited after having been taken over and vesting in the Central Government, later vested in the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (Assam Oil Division) vide Notification dated 13.10.1981. All the employees of the specified company employed immediately before the appointed date became officers and the employees of the Central Government/successor government company. Sub-section (1) of Section 11 relevant for the purposes reads as under:

"11. (1) Every whole-time officer or other employee of a specified company who was, immediately before the appointed day, employed by that company in connection with its undertakings in India, and every whole-time officer or other employee of a specified company who was, immediately before the appointed day, temporarily holding any assignment outside India shall, on the appointed day, become an officer or other employee, as the case may be, of the Central Government or the concerned Government company (hereinafter referred to as the successor Government company) in which the right, title and interest of the specified company in relation to its undertakings in India have vested under this Act and shall hold office or service under the Central Government, or the successor Government company, as the rights to pension, gratuity and other matters as would have been admissible to him if there had been no such vesting and shall continue to do so unless and until his employment under the Central Government or the successor Government company is duly terminated or until his remuneration and conditions of service are duly altered by the Central Government or the successor Government company.

(2) xxx xxx

(3) xxx xxx

(4) xxx xxx "

We find that in regard to those employees who were in receipt of pension or other pensionary benefits immediately before the appointed date, a provision has been made under Section 12 of the Act, which reads as under:

"12. (1) Where a provident, superannuation, welfare or other fund has been established by a specified company for the benefit of the persons employed by it in connection with its undertakings in India, or for the benefit of such persons and persons employed by Oil India, the money relatable to the employees-

(a) whose services are transferred by or