( 1 ) RULE D. B. An order, dated 14 July 1999, passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi (for short the Tribunal ) in OA No. 492/1998 forms the subject-matter of challenge in this writ petition. By the impugned order, the Tribunal has dismissed petitioner s original application seeking a direction to the respondents to permit him to changeover from State Railway Provident Fund (in short srpf ) to the pension scheme, introduced vide Railway Board s letter dated 22 July 1974 and further extended in terms of their letter dated 4 October 1982.

( 2 ) THE background, in which the petition has come to be filed, is as follows:

THE petitioner joined the services of Railways on 24 December 1948 as an Assistant Electrical Engineer on his selection by the Federal Public Service Commission. He superannuated on 31 July 1982 as Chief Administrative Officer, Metropolitan Transport Project (Railways) New Delhi. At the time when the petitioner had joined the service, the Railways had no pension scheme. However, in the year 1957 a retirement benefit scheme known as SRPF was introduced. On the recommendations of the III Pay Commission, in the year 1974,