Entitlement to pension benefits under the Old Pension Scheme is determined by the completion of 10 years of service prior to the specified date, as per the Government Resolution.

ORDER :

1. Rule returnable forthwith. Mr. Jay Mehta, learned AGP waives service of notice of rule for and on behalf of the respondents.

2. This petition under Article-226 of the Constitution of India is filed with following prayers :

“18(A) Be pleased to admit this petition;

(B) Be pleased to pass appropriate writ, orders and/or direction in the nature of mandamus by exercising powers under Art.226 of the Constitution quashing and setting aside the communication/order dated 4-12-2015 issued by the respondent no.3 by declaring same as illegal, arbitrary, contrary, to the GR dated 13-7-2015 and violative of Art.14 and 16 of the Constitution and further be pleased to hold and declare that, new pension scheme announced is not applicable to the petitioners and petitioners are entitled to receive pension according to old pension scheme under which all other the employees on the badli list prepared as on 1-4-1984 and regularized prior to 2005 (i.e. between 1988 and 31-03-2–5) are drawing pension upon retirement after putting in more than 10 years of services;

(C) pending admission, hearing and final disposal of this petition, be pleased to pass appropriate orders and/or directions directing the respondents to forthwith discontinue the petitioners from new pension scheme by taking them out of the purview of the operation of the new pension scheme and stop deducting amount towards provident fund and contributing to the provident fund any amount on behalf of the State Government for the purpose of paying pension or considering petitioners under the new pension scheme;

(D) pending admission, hearing and final disposal of this petition, be pleased to direct the respondents to process the case papers of the petitioners on their retirement from the service treating them under the old pension scheme and start paying the provisional pension to all the petitioners whose name figure in the list of badli workers prepared as on 1-4-1984 regularized in the service and have retired putting in more than 10 years of service as on 31-3-2005 after working from 1983 on-wards;

(E) be pleased to pas any other and further order in the interest of justice;”

3. Essentially, the prayer of the petitioners is to treat the petitioners to have completed more than 10 years of service as on the date of 31-03-2005 and therefore, entitled to the pension under Old Pension Scheme.

4. Learned Advocate for the petitioners has taken this Court firstly through the Government Resolution dated 21-07-1989, wherein provision was made for putting ‘Badli Workers’ like the petitioners into regular pay scale, where the employees have been appointed and were working as on 01-04-1984.

5. Thereafter, learned Advocate for the petitioners has taken this Court to order dated 19-05-2005, which is sample order placed on record of petitioner No.1 and submitted that all the petitioners before the Court, have been issued such order of 19-05-2005, where in the order itself, the Department has acknowledged of having completed 10 years of service treating the date of appointment as on 19-11-1982 as ‘Badli Employee’ and under that order, has placed the petitioner in the pay scale.

6. Thereafter, learned Advocate for the petitioners has taken this Court to the Government Resolution dated 13-07-2015, which is governing the Resolution for the purpose of this case and submitted that the Resolution clearly provides for two categories, to which pension is to be made applicable and submitted that such Resolution only provides that the employee, who has completed 10 years of service on 31-03-2005, would be entitled to the Pension under Old Pension Scheme, whereas those employees, who completed 10 years of service after 21-03-2005, would be entitled to the New Pension Scheme floated under the Government Resolution dated 21-03-2005.

7. Learned Advocate for the petitioners submitted that as on date, the petitioners are being treated under New Pension Scheme and are receiving an amount of Rs.700/- to Rs.1,000/-, which