ORDER

1. Heard counsel for the parties. Delay in filing the SLPs is condoned.

2. Leave granted in all the SLPS.

3. Special Leave Petition No. 3919 of 1993 arises from the judgment of the Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissing the writ petition filed by the Janpad Panchayat & Zila Panchayat Karamchari Sangh and others. The reliefs sought for in the writ petition were :

(1) to declare that the petitioners are government employees just like similar employees in Mahakoshal region of the State of Madhya Pradesh; and

(2) to direct the respondents in the writ petition to pay all benefits admissible to government employees including retrial allowance, bonus, pension, gratuity, family pension, death-cum-gratuity (ex gratia payment to the family).

4. The High Court was of the opinion that the petitioners are not entitled to either declaration and accordingly dismissed the writ petition. When the SLP came up for admission before a Bench of this Court, a notice was issued limited to the question of entitlement of the employees belonging to Madhya Pradesh (other than erstwhile Mahakoshal region) to payment of gratuity and pension. While this SLP was pending, ten other SLPs have been filed by the State of Madhya Pradesh against a common judgment of the Madhya Pradesh Administrative Tribunal, Indore holding that since the writ petitioners therein were appointed by the erstwhile Madhya Bharat Government they are entitled to the benefits of pension and gratuity. All these ten SLPs have been filed accompanied by applications for condoning the delay in filing them. The delay ranges from 300 to 350 days.

5. It would thus appear that the common question in all the 11 SLPs is whether the employees of the Panchayats - whether it be a Gram Panchayat, Janpad Panchayat or the Zila Panchayat - are entitled to the benefit of pension and gratuity. We have perused the judgment of the Tribunal which is under appeal in the aforesaid ten SLPs. We have also seen the judgment of the learned Single Judge of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh which is referred to by the Tribunal in its judgment but none of them present to us a clear picture either on facts or law.

6. The Madhya Pradesh Panchayats Act, 1962 contains four provisions relevant in this behalf, viz., Sections 75, 147, 189 and 386. They read as under :

"75. Establishment of Provident Fund. - A Gram Panchayat may in accordance with the rules made under this Act :

(a) establish and maintain a Provident Fund on behalf of its officers and servants;

(b) grant gratuity to any officer or servant subject to the previous approval of the prescribed authority; and

(c) grant pension to any officer or servant subject to the previous approval of the State Government.

147. Establishment of Provident Fund. - A Janpad Panchayat may in accordance with the rules made under this Act :

(a) establish and maintain a Provident Fund on behalf of its officers and servants;

(b) grant gratuity to any officer or servant subject to the previous approval of the prescribed authority; and

(c) grant pension to any officer or servant subject to the previous approval of the State Government.

189. Establishment of Provident Fund. - A Zila Panchayat may in accordance with the rules made under this Act :

(a) establish and maintain a Provident Fund on behalf of the officers and servants;

(b) grant gratuity to any officer or servant subject to the previous approval of the prescribed authority; and

(c) grant pension to any officer or servant subject to the previous approval of the State Government.

386. Savings as to existing permanent employees. - (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any rule or bye-law made thereunder, the pay and allowances, pension and retirement benefits of all permanent officers and servants or other employees of (the Mandal Panchayat or as the case may be, the Janpad Sabha, Kendra Panchayat or Tehsil Panchayat, on the date of the constitution of the first Zila Panchayat or, as the case may be, the first Janp