( 1 ) THIS petition raises an interesting question as to the pension rights of a person belonging to the former Indian Civil Service who continued to serve under the Government of the Dominion or the Government of a Province after the Independence of India. Prior to 15th August 1947 when India became independent there was a Civil Service of the Crown in India known as the Indian Civil Service to which recruitment was made by the Secretary of State for India. The petitioner was appointed to the Indian Civil Service by the Secretary of State on 12th October 1931 and like all persons recruited to that Service he was required to enter into a covenant by means of an Indenture executed between himself and the Secretary of State. He was allotted to the Civil Service Cadre in the Province of Bombay and the continued to serve in connection with the affairs of the Province of Bombay upto the date when power was transferred under the Indian Independence Act 1947 The effect of the transfer was as we shall presently point out to bring about an automatic and legal termination of service on the date of independence and on such termination it was open to the servant concerned either to decline to continue in the service of the new Government or to offer to continue his service and in case the individual servant intimated his desire to continue in service the final option was with the Government of India whether to continue him or not. A communication dated 18th June 1947 was accordingly addressed by the Government of India to all members of the Secretary of States Services including the petitioner requesting them to intimate within ten days from the receipt of the communication whether they wished to continue in service of the Government or desired to retire from service. In response to this communication the petitioner by his letter dated 23rd June 1947 intimated to the Joint Secretary to the Government of India Home Department that he wished to continue in service of the Government and on receipt of this intimation the Government of India in consultation with the Provincial Government decided to continue the petitioner in service after 15th August 1947 on the Bombay Cadre and informed the petitioner accordingly by a letter bearing some date in August 1947. The petitioner accordingly continued on and after 15th August 1947 to serve under the Government of Bombay. Sec. 10 (2) of the Indian Independence Act 1947 guaranteed to the petitioner and all other members of the forever Secretary of States services who continued on and after 15th August 1947 to serve under the Government of the Dominion or the Government of any Province certain conditions of service and rights by providing that such person shall be entitled to receive from the Government of the Dominion or the Government of the Province which he is from time to time serving or as the case may be which is served by the Courts in which he is from time to time a Judge: -. . . . THE same conditions of service as respects remuneration leave and pension and the same rights as respects disciplinary matters or as the case may be as respects the tenure of his office or rights as similar thereto as changed circumstances may permit. as that person was entitled to immediately before the appointed day. When the Constitution was enacted the same guarantee was continued under Article 314 and since that Article forms the basis of the claim made by the petitioner we may set it out:- 314 Except as otherwise expressly provided by this Constitution every person who having been appointed by the secretary of state or Secretary of state in Council to a civil service of the Crown in India continues on and after the commencement of this constitution to serve under the Government of India or of a State shall be entitled to receive from the Government of India and the Government of the State which he is from time to time serving the same conditions of service as respects remuneration leave and p