BHAGWATI, J.

(1) - These writ petit- tions are filed by employees of the Life Insurance Corporation challenging the constitutional validity of the Life Insarance Corporation (Modification of Settlement) Act, 1976. This unusual piece of legislation was enacted by Parlia- ment during the emergency at a time when there could hardly be any effective debate or discussion and it sought to render ineffective a solemn and deli- berate Settlement arrived at between the Life Insurance Corporation and tour different associations of its employees for payment of cash bonus. It is neces- sary, in order to appreciate the various contentions arising in the Writ Petition to recapitulate briefly the facts leading up to .the enactment of the Lite Insurance Corporation (Modification of Setttenicnt) Act, 1976, hereinafter referred to as the impugned Act. 1A The Life Insurance Corporation is a statutory authority established under the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 and under S. 6 it is the general duty of the Life Insurance Corporation to carry on life insurance business, whether in or outside India, and it is required to so exercise its powers as to secure that life insurance business is developed to the best advantage of the community. It is not necessary to refer to the various provisions of the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 which define the powers, duties and func- tions of the Life Insurance corporation Act, since we are not concerned with them in these Writ Petition. It would be enough to refer to S. 49 which confers power on the Life Insurance Corporation to make regulations. Sub- S. (1) of that S. provides that the Life Insurance Corporation may, with the previous approval of the central government, make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, "to provide for all matters for which provision is expedient for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions" of the Act and Ss. (2) enacts that in particular and without prejudice to tine generality of the power conferred under Ss. (1), such regulations may provide for- (b) the method of recruitment of employees and agents of the Cor- poration and the terms and conditions of service of such employees or agents; (bb) the terms and conditions of service of persons who have become employees of the Corporation under sub-section (1) of S. 11 ; The Life Insurance Corporation has in exercise of the power conferred under clauses (b) and (bb) of sub-section (2) of S. 49 and with the previous approval of the central government, made the Life Insurance Corporation (Staff) Regulations, 1960 defining the terms and conditions of service of its employees. There is only one Regulation which is material for our purposes and that is Regulation 58 which is in the following terms : The Corporation may, subject to such directions as the central government may issue, grant non-profit sharing bonus to its employees and the payment thereof, including conditions of eligibility for the bonus, shall be regulated by instructions issued by the Chairman from time to time. We have set out Regulation 58 in its present form as that is the form in which it stood throughout the relevant period. It will be a matter for consideration as to what is the effect of this Regulation on the Settlement arrived at between the Life Insurance Corporation and its employees in regard to bonus.

(2) IT appears that right from 1959 settlements were arrived at between the Life Insurance Corporation and its employees from time to time in regard to various matters relating to the terms and conditions of service of Class III and Class IV employees including bonus payable to them. The last of such settlement dated 20/06/1970, as modified by the Settlement dated 26/06/1972, expired on 31/03/1973. Thereupon four different associations of employees of the Life Insurance Corporation submitted their charter of demands for revision of scales of pay, allowance and other terms and condi- tions of service on behalf of