JUDGMENT

Sanjay Kishan Kaul, J. - Leave granted.

2. The appellants before us are the retired teaching and nonteaching employees of the deficit grant minority colleges of the State of Bihar who are aggrieved by what is alleged to be unreasonable and arbitrary discrimination between such of them who retired before 31.08.2010, as against those who retired after that date, for the grant of benefit of the amendment made to the Triple Benefit Scheme.

3. We may, at the inception, first note that the appellants before us have impleaded not only the State of Bihar but also the concerned Universities being respondent Nos.3 to 8 since they are affiliated to these Universities. The universities are also distinct from an aided institution in as much as when, in their planned expenditure there is some amount of deficit, the Government makes up the deficit as a matter of assistance to education. It is in this background that the controversy has to be analyzed by us.

4. The story starts from 05.11.1980 when resolution No.1500 was passed by the Government of Bihar introducing the General Provident Fund-cum-pension-cum-gratuity benefit (Triple Benefit Scheme) which came into effect as on 01.04.1978.