JUDGMENT :

SANJAY KISHAN KAUL, J.

1. The respondents are all ex-employees of the appellant/Delhi Transport Corporation (for short ‘DTC’), who availed of the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (for short ‘VRS’). The respondents have, however, been held disentitled to pension on account of exclusion of period when they remained absent without authorisation for which period they were held not entitled to salary. In D.T.C. v. Lillu Ram, (2017) 11 SCC 407 such exclusion was upheld with the consequence that the ex-employees would not get pensionary benefits, having not completed 10 years of qualifying service. In the present appeal, two Hon’ble Judges of this Court, after examining Lillu Ram’s[(supra)] case opined that a reconsideration by a larger Bench, of that view, was required. As a sequitur, the present appeal has been placed before us.

2. A perusal of the reference order dated 9.11.2016, shows that the disagreement with the view taken in Lillu Ram[(supra)] case emanated on various accounts: (a) if the employee has been sanctioned leave without pay, why such period should be treated as a period of unauthorised absence; (b) non-consideration of relevant rules such as Rules 27 & 28 of the Cent