IMPORTANT POINT
University cannot change statute and implement it without approval of Chancellor.

JUDGMENT :

Anil R. Dave, J.

1. Leave granted in all the special leave petitions.

2. Being aggrieved by the judgment delivered in D.B. Civil Special Appeal (Writ) No.431 of 2012 in S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.9843 of 2011 dated 19th July, 2012, delivered by the High Court of Rajasthan, the appellant-State of Rajasthan has filed the present set of appeals.

3. As all the appeals arise out of a common judgment delivered by the Rajasthan High Court, all the appeals were heard together at the request of the learned counsel appearing for the concerned parties.

4. The facts giving rise to the present litigation, in a nutshell, are as under:

Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology (hereinafter called ‘the University’) is an autonomous body performing the function of making provisions for imparting education in different branches of study, particularly Agriculture, Horticulture, Veterinary Science, Animal Husbandry etc. to the students and is constituted under the provisions of the Rajasthan Agricultural University, Udaipur Act, 2000 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’). The University is the employer of other respondents, who had been either working under the University and now retired or they are still in the employment of the University.

5. The University had framed a Provident Fund Scheme for its employees. Accordingly, in the past, upon retirement, the employees of the University used to get their own contribution as well as contribution of the University by way of retiral benefits as per the provisions of the Contributory Provident Fund Scheme. On 7th December, 2000, the Board of Management of the University passed a resolution whereby it gave an option to its employees to either continue under the Contributory Provident Fund Scheme or to opt for a pension scheme under the Pension Rules, 1990. Certain employees had opted for the pension scheme. Once again, the Board of Management of the University passed another resolution on 18th December, 2009 inviting options from the employees as to whether they wanted to join the Pension Scheme or wanted to continue under the Contributory Provident Fund Scheme. In pursuance of the second resolution, some more employees had opted for the pension scheme.

6. Though the University is an autonomous body constituted under the provisions of ‘the Act’, it is dependant on the appellant in its financial matters, as the University is unable to generate sufficient funds to meet with its expenditure. According to Section 36 of the Act, the appellant-has to provide grant to the University to meet its expenditure, especially in relation to the expenditure pertaining to salary and allowances given to its employees. Thus, the University gets substantial funds from the appellant. Due to the option exercised by several employees in favour of the pension scheme, financial burden of the University had been substantially increased and the said burden was ultimately to be discharged by the appellant. It is pertinent to note here and it is an admitted fact that before giving such an option under the resolutions dated 7th December, 2000 and 18th December, 2009, the University did not even consult the appellant in the matter of changing the scheme with regard to payment of retiral benefits to its employees.

7. The appellant was unaware of the resolutions passed by the Board of Management of the University, whereby its employees were offered an opportunity to opt for the pension scheme, but upon getting information about the change effected by the University regarding implementation of the Pension Scheme, upon due deliberation by the Finance Department of the appellant, under its order dated 3rd June, 2011, the appellant did not approve the same.

8. When the order dated 3rd June, 2011 issued by the appellant had been communicated to the University, by an order dated 30th November, 2011, the University withdrew its resolutions dated 7th December, 2000 and 18th December, 2009.

9. As a result of the