ORDER :

The issue involved in all these writ petitions pertains to the entitlement of the petitioners to avail the benefit under the old Pension Scheme that prevailed prior to the implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme that was brought into force vide G.O.No.259 Finance (Pension) Department dated 06.08.2003.

2. The brief facts of the case are as under :

2.1. The petitioners joined as Police Constables (Grade-II) in the selection for the year 2001-2002. This selection was made pursuant to the notification issued by the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board [TNUSRB] on 25.05.2002, where applications were invited to fill up 3500 posts of Police Constable (Grade-II). The total posts was increased to 4931 by virtue of the subsequent notification issued on 05.03.2003.

2.2. It is stated by the petitioners that the recruitment process immediately commenced and the selection for the post of Police Constable (Grade-II) was done in the following manner :

25.5.2002 Notification was published for 3500 posts

05.03.2003 Notification was published for 4931 posts

14.05.2003 Physical Entrance Test was conducted

10.06.2003 Written Examination was conducted

15.08.2003 Results for Written Examination was published

26.08.2003 Medical test was conducted

12.11.2003 Appointment order was issued

2.3. The 1st respondent issued a new Pension Scheme named Contributory Pension Scheme vide G.O.No.259 Finance (Pension) Department dated 06.08.2003. Through the said Government Order, an amendment was brought by issuing a notification, whereby a proviso was added to Rule 2 in Chapter I, as follows :

"Provided that these rules shall not apply to Government servants appointed on or after the 1st April 2003, to services and posts in connection with the affairs of the State which are borne on pensionable establishments, whether temporary or permanent".

2.4. Pursuant to the above Government Order, G.O.No.430, dated 06.08.2004, was issued and it was provided as follows :

Heads of the Departments/Heads of Offices should new employees who have already joined the Government Service after 31.03.2003 within a month from the date of this G.O. As and when new employees join in future, they should be admitted to this scheme compulsorily by the Heads of the Department/Heads of offices by promptly applying for allotment of the Index No. to the Accountant General within a month from the date of joining of the new employees.

2.5. During the tenure of the petitioners, the pension contribution was collected/deducted from their salary as per the above Government Orders.

2.6. The grievance of the petitioners is that they ought to have been brought under the old Pension Scheme since their selection process had commenced much prior to 01.04.2003 and there was a delay in completing the process and as a result, the appointment orders were given to the petitioners only during November 2003. The petitioners have taken a stand that the delay is not attributable to them and while considering the entitlement under the old Pension Scheme, the period during which the selection process took place by notifying the vacancy, is the relevant factor and if this had taken place prior to 01.04.2003, the petitioners must be entitled to the old Pension Scheme. Therefore, the petitioners have taken a stand that the appointment order that was given subsequent to 01.04.2003 should not be put against the petitioners. Various representations were made by the petitioners to the respondents requesting for bringing the petitioners under the old Pension Scheme and since the same was not considered, these writ petitions have been filed seeking for appropriate directions.

3. The respondents have filed individual counter affidavit in each writ petition. However, the contents are the same. The relevant portions in the counter affidavit are extracted hereunder :

16. Regarding the averments made in paragraph 12 of the affidavit, it is submitted that the contention of the petitioners is not acceptable. As per Governm