ANAND BYRAREDDY, J.

( 1 ) THE facts of the case are: the petitioner had joined the services of the first respondent Coffee Board (hereinafter referred to as 'the Board' for brevity) on 30. 7. 1971 as a Junior Clerk. He was promoted to the post of an assistant Sales Officer during September, 1974. He continued to hold the said post till the date of his voluntary retirement under the Voluntary Retirement Scheme, 1994 propounded by the board. He was relieved from service on 3. 7. 1995, by which time he had put in about 24 years of service. In the matter of service conditions of the employees of the Board, it did not have any service Rules of its own. The service conditions were regulated under the Fundamental Rules and Supplementary Rules, as applicable to the Government servants of the Central Government. The Board employees were given the scales of pay as applicable to the Government servants of the Central Government and as revised from time to time. The pension of its retiring employees under the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Rules' for brevity) has been fixed by the Board. It is therefore the petitioner's case, that the entire service conditions of the petitioner and other Board employees were governed under the aforesaid Rules. Accordingly, the petitioner was paid compensation as provided under the Voluntary Retirement scheme and his retiral benefits, including pension were fixed under the said Rules. The Government of India had framed rules making provision for medical assistance/facilities/concessions to all the in-service Government servants and it was decided to grant medical allowance of Rs. 100/- per month per employee working in the interior areas where no Authorised Medical Attendant is available. In the year 1959, the Central Government brought into effect a Health Scheme for its employees - working as well as retired, which is known as Central Government Health Scheme (hereinafter referred to as 'the Scheme' for brevity ). This is now available throughout the country. Under the scheme, the persons have to get treatment from the designated health centres only. In areas where the Scheme is not available, the Central Government employees are governed by the Rules for treatment by hospitalisation or non-hospitalisation and get reimbursed, the expenses incurred by them. It is therefore the petitioner's case, that the Central Government employees avail medical benefit either under the Rules or under the Scheme. In so far as the employees of the Board are concerned, they were governed under the Rules and were sanctioned medical reimbursement up to Rs. 1800/- per annum or Rs. 150/- per month, on production of proof. They were also entitled to be paid expenses incurred towards hospitalisation or treatment at the rates and on the same terms and conditions as is applicable to the Central Government employees. However, once the board employees demit their office and retire from service, they were subject to unfair treatment and were denied any medical facility under the Rules. It is now the petitioner's case that the first respondent, on the ruse that the petitioner is not entitled to any medical facility, since the Rules do not apply to retired Government officials, and by extension, would not be applicable to retired board employees, has denied such benefit to the petitioner. It is the petitioner's case that the board employees, while in service, have the same service conditions as that of the Central government employees, On retirement, their pension is fixed under the CCS (Pension) Rules and being retirees, there is no change brought about in the case of Board employees so as to make them disentitled to medical facility. Indeed the petitioner would submit, that medical help is needed most during the fading years of one's life when chances of falling sick are all the more. It is contended by the petitioner that the right to life encompasses the right to health and medical ca

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