Judgment

BEG, J.:- These are two Appeals by Special leave before us, one by the Municipal Corporation, Bhopal, and another by the State of Madhya Pradesh against the judgment and order of a Division Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court allowing a writ petition filed by the Respondent employee of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (hereinafter called the Corporation ).

2. The employee s case was: He was born on 1st July, 1912, appointed a Lower Division Clerk in April, 1962, promoted as a Upper Division Clerk in February, 1964. A general order dated 21 December, 1967, (Annexure A ) had been passed by the Administrator, Municipal Corporation purporting to carry out the orders of the Government of Madhya Pradesh which had decided that the age of compulsory retirement of all servants of the Corporation, other than Class IV servants, should be 55 years. The employee was informed of it by a communication dated 22nd December, 1967 (Annexure B). The Municipal Corporation of Bhopal, which was formerly only a Municipal Council, became a Corporation when provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1956 (hereinafter referred to as the Act ) were applied to it from 25th August,