Balakrishnan Nair, J.

The petitioners are/were employees of the Kerala State Electricity Board (hereinafter referred to as 'the Board'). The Government amended Rule 60(a) of Part I, Kerala Service Rules, modifying the date of retirement of the Government servants from the last day of the month in which they attain the age of 55 years to the last day of the financial year concerned in which they attain the said age. The benefit of the said amendment has not been extended to the petitioners, by the Managing Committee of the Board and the Government. Feeling aggrieved by the said stand of the Managing Committee and the Government, these Writ Petitions are filed. Since the very same point arises for decision in all these Writ Petitions, they are heard together and disposed of by this common judgment.

WP(C) No.26987 of 2009:

2. This Writ Petition is treated as the main case for the purpose of referring to the parties and the exhibits. The petitioners, who are employees of the Board, are due to retire from service during this financial year. The Kerala State Electricity Board is a statutory Board, constituted under the provisions of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948. The service conditions of its employees were governed by the regulations framed by the Board under Section 79(c) of the aforementioned Act. By virtue of the regulation making power, the Board has adopted the Kerala Service Rules, the Kerala State and Subordinate Services Rules, etc., for regulating the service conditions of its employees. When the Government introduced amendments to these rules from time to time, the Electricity Board, usually, took decisions to adopt those amendments also. Finally, the Board by Ext.P2 Board Order, which was issued based on a decision of the Board held on 27.11.2002, provided that all the amendments brought to the Kerala Service Rules and the Kerala Service and Subordinate Services Rules will automatically apply mutatis mutandis to the Board employees also, unless otherwise decided by the Full Board.

3. The retirement age of the employees of the Board was governed by Rule 60(a) of Part I, Kerala Service Rules, (for short, "K.S.R"), which provided that the employees shall retire from service on the last day of the month in which they attain the age of 55 years. The Government, by Ext.P3 order dated 24.4.2009, decided to amend the said rule, by making the date of retirement of all the employees as the last day of the financial year, that is, 31st March of the concerned year. The Government issued Ext.P4 order on 30.4.2009, to extend the benefit of Ext.P3 to all Public Sector Undertakings, Autonomous bodies, Universities, Corporations and Boards under the State Government. It was also ordered that in the case of autonomous bodies, Ext.P3 will apply, subject to the decision of their governing bodies. On the basis of Ext.P4, the Electricity Board as per Ext.P5 Board Order, which was issued based on the decision of the Board Meeting held on 21.5.2009, ordered not to make applicable Ext.P3 to the K.S.E.B. employees. The result of Ext.P5 decision was that the Board employees will continue to be governed by the unamended provisions contained in Rule 60 (a) of Part I, K.S.R. Soon thereafter, the Government issued G.O.(P) No.261/2009/Fin, dated 4.7.2009, (a copy of which is produced as Ext.P6), formally amending Rule 60(a) of Part I, K.S.R. with effect from 24.4.2009, that is, the date of Ext.P3. The original sub-rule(a) of Rule 60 of Part I, K.S.R. was substituted by the following sub-rule, which reads as follows:

"(a) Except as otherwise provided in these rules the date of compulsory retirement of employees and teachers shall take effect from the afternoon of the last day of the financial year in which they attain the age of 55 years. They may be retained after this date only with the sanction of Government on public grounds which must be recorded in writing, but they must not be retained after the age of 60 years except in very spe