JUDGMENT

ORDER:— The petitioner was a sitting Judge of the Patna High Court when he became the Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal at Hyderabad. He attained the age of 62 on 1-2-80 and ceased to be a Judge of the High Court but continued to be the Chairman of the said Tribunal until 30-11-81, when on grounds of health, he resigned. Under the High Court Judges (Conditions of Service) Act, 1954, as amended in 1976, the petitioner was found entitled to gratuity of Rs. 18,666.67 and after adjusting certain loans to be recovered, he was actually paid a sum of Rs. 7,302.02 as retirement gratuity, calculated on the basis of S. 17A(3)(i) of the said Act. On 14-12-78, the Government of India in the Ministry of Home Affairs laid down the terms and conditions of service of the Chairman and the members of the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal. Annexure B to the counter-affidavit filed in this Court indicates those terms so far as the Chairman is concerned. The prescription therein was to the following effect :

"In partial modifications of the terms and conditions of service of the Chairman and Members of the Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal as contained in para 2 o