The termination of the LARSGESS Scheme was justified, and no person could claim a vested right or legitimate expectation under the scheme.

JUDGMENT :

DHANANJAYA Y. CHANDRACHUD, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. In the two appeals which have come up for adjudication there is a challenge to the judgments dated 21 March 2018 and 3 September 2019 of the Madras High Court at its Madurai Bench. Since similar questions of law arise in these appeals, both the special leave petitions have been tagged and the arguments have been addressed together.

3. On 2 January 2004, the Railway Board under the Union Ministry of Railways introduced a scheme known as the Safety Related Retirement Scheme for the categories of Gangmen and Drivers. The scheme was intended to cover these “two safety categories” since the working of Drivers and Gangmen was perceived to have a crucial bearing on train operations and track maintenance. Taking note of the fact that the reflexes of the staff recruited to these categories and their physical fitness might deteriorate with advancing age, causing a safety hazard, the scheme incorporated the following provisions:

(i) Drivers and Gangmen in the age group of 55-57 could seek voluntary retirement.

(ii) When the application for retirement is accepted, employment would be considered for a ‘suitable ward’ of the employee.

(iii) The employee should have completed 33 years of qualifying service in order to be eligible for seeking voluntary retirement under the scheme.

(iv) The ward of the employee would be considered for employment only in the lowest recruitment grade of the category from which the employee sought retirement, depending upon eligibility and suitability but not in any other category.

(v) Applications for retirement under the scheme would be taken once a year with the cut-off date for reckoning the eligibility of the employees being 30th June, while the last date for submission of requests would be 31st July. The eligibility criteria such as age limit and educational qualifications will be determined with reference to the cut-off date.

(vi) The discretion to consider the request for retirement will vest with the administration depending on the shortage of staff, physical fitness and suitability of the ward in the category of Driver/Gangman as the case may be.

(vii) Persons who had completed 33 years of service and fell within the age group of 55-57 would be considered in the first phase followed by those between the age group of 53-55 years.

(viii) Criteria for the eligibility of wards would be as prescribed for direct recruitment.

(ix) The request of the employee for retirement would be considered only if the ward is considered suitable for appointment in all aspects including medical fitness.

4. On 11 September 2010, the Railway Board notified that the benefit of the scheme would be extended to other safety categories of staff with a grade pay of Rs. 1800/- per month. The period of qualifying service was reduced from 33 years to 20 years and the eligible age group from 55-57 to 50-57 years for seeking retirement under the scheme. The nomenclature of the scheme was modified to read as Liberalized Active Retirement Scheme for Guaranteed Employment for Safety Staff (“LARSGESS Scheme”). The qualifying service period of 33 years and the age group of 55-57 years was to remain unchanged for Drivers.

5. The Railway Board also reiterated that retirement of an employee would be considered only if a ward is found suitable in all aspects. It was envisaged that the retirement of the employee and appointment of the ward should take place simultaneously. The LARSGESS Scheme was scrutinised by a Division Bench of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana in a decision dated 27 April 2016 in Kala Singh vs. Union of India [CWP No. 7714 of 2016]. In that case there was a challenge to an order of the Central Administrative Tribunal (“CAT”) by which it dismissed the original application filed by employees of the Railways seeking the postponement of the dates of their voluntary retirement to the date on which their wards were appointed by the Railways under the LARSGESS Scheme. Justice Surya Ka