The central legal point established in the judgment is the duty of the State Government to ensure the payment of pensionary benefits and Cost of Living Allowance to the employees of the State Road Transport Corporation, irrespective of the resources of the Corporation.

1. Letters Patent Appeal on hand is directed against the writ court judgment dated 17.12.2011 in SWP No. 1413/2009 titled Jammu & Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation Pensioners Welfare Association v. State of J&K and others whereby the writ court has quashed communication addressed by Dy. Accountant General to the Commissioner Secretary to Government Finance Department, to the extent it made payment of Cost Of Living Allowance to the petitioners subject to the availability of resources with the J&K State Road Transport Corporation.

2. The admitted facts may be noticed, in the first place.

3. Members of the writ petitioner/Respondent No. 1 Association, are erstwhile employees of J&K Government Transport Undertaking. The State Government in the year 1976 converted the Transport undertaking into J&K State Road Transport Corporation. The State Government vide Government order No.25/TR of 1979 dated 27.3.1979 directed that the employees of the Transport Undertaking would be treated as on deputation to the State Road Transport Corporation. The employees of the Transport Undertaking who were holding permanent status or quasi perma#31;nent status for five years on the date the Transport Undertaking was converted into State Road Transport Corporation, were in terms of the aforestated Government order given option to either retain pensioner benefits available to them under Government Rules or opt for such rules of the newly formed State Road Transport Corporation.

4. The members of the writ petitioner/respondent No. 1 Association admit#31;tedly did not opt for the rules governing the employees of the State Road Transport Corporation and took a decision to be governed by the Government Rules. In the meantime, the State Government vide order No.1 19/G A dated 26.4.1980 fixed scale of Dearness Allowance and Cost of Living Allowance for the employees of Public Sector Enterprises at different levels including the State Road Transport Corpora#31;tion. The members of the writ petitioner/respondent No. 1 Association continued to receive such benefits till January 1999. However, the appellants -respondents 2 and 3 are reluctant to pay the arrears on account of Dearness Allowances and Cost Of Living Allowance to the members of the writ petitioner/respondent No. 1 Association and also to add 50% of Cost of Living Allowance to their Basic Pay for computation of their pensionary benefits. The stand taken by the State Government is that it is the State Roac transport Corporation that has to pay the arrears on account of Dearness Allowances and Cost of Living Allowances from its own resources and that the State Government is not under any obligation to make such payment.

5. The State Road Transport Corporation on the other hand insists that the State Government is under an obligation to pay whatever is due to the members of the writ petitioner/respondent No. 1 Association on account of arrears of Dearness Allowance and Cost of Living Allowance. The members of the writ petitioner/respondent No. 1 Association thus caught in rival stands taken by the State Government and State Road Transport Corporation are not in a position to collect their arrears and the retirement benefits.

6. It is pertinent to point out that the members of the writ petitioner/respon#31;dent No. 1 Association have since retired on superannuation without getting whatever was due to them on account of the slabs of Cost Of Living Allowance released/sanctioned by the State Road Transport Corporation Board. The members of the writ petitioner/respondent No. 1 Association to reinforce their claim, rely upon the communication dated 28.6.2006 addressed by Managing Director State Road Transport Corporation Srinagar-respondent No.4 in the writ petition and respondent No.2 in the Appeal, to the Director (Codes) Finance Department- as also die communication dated 13.4.2007, making it clear that almost half of the Cost of Living Allowance slabs stand already released in favour of