IMPORTANT POINT
The judgment established the need to consider increasing pension benefits for employees of non-governmental organizations and the applicability of pension rules to such employees.

JUDGMENT :

(Prayer: Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, to issue a Writ of Certiorari Mandamus to call for the records of the 2nd respondent in its Na.Ka. No.080477/L/ES/2019 dated 28.08.2020 and quash the same and consequently direct the respondents to sanction pension to the petitioners on par with Government employees with effect from their respective dates of employment and pay the same with all arrears and other attendant benefits including dearness relief and continue to pay.)

1. Heard, Mr. V.Vijayashankar, learned Counsel for the petitioner and Mr.M.Rajendran, learned Additional Government pleader for the respondents and perused the materials available on records.

2. A Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus has been filed by challenging the impugned order dated 28.08.2020 of the 2nd respondent and consequently to direct the respondents to sanction pension to the petitioners on par with Government employees with effect from their respective dates of employment and pay the same with all arrears and other attendant benefits including dearness relief.

3. All the petitioners are employees of the Bharat Scouts and Guides, which is an organ of the Department of Education, Government of Tamil Nadu. Since petitioners 1, 2, 4 and 8 died during the pendency of the proceedings, their legal heirs were impleaded as petitioners 10 to 21. The petitioners, excluding the legal heirs, were recruited through employment exchange to work for Bharat Scouts and Guides. They have been given with the pay and allowances on par with government employees. Their service conditions were also similar to those of government servants in respect to the grant of other allowances, festival advance, selection grade, special grade of pay, etc.

4. A government order was issued in G.O.Ms.No.544, Education (W1) Department, dated 16.04.2019, issued to constitute a separate fund for meeting the pensionary benefits for the employees of Bharat Scouts and Guides, as there were only 18 to 20 regular employees. A fund of Rs.3,00,000/- was given as a corpus fund. Later, the corpus fund was raised to Rs.15,00,000/- through a government order in G.O.Ms.155, dated 25.05.1999. In the year 2014, the said corpus fund was raised further to Rs.3,00,00,000/- through a government order in G.O.Ms.No.38 dated 27.02.2015. Even though the petitioners were granted earned leave encashment, gratuity and other commutation of pension, they have not been paid regular pension with reference to their salary; hence, the petitioners made representations and then filed a writ petition in W.P.No.34518 of 2019.

5. In pursuant to the direction given in the above writ petition, the 2nd respondent has passed an order sanctioning a meager amount of Rs. 1000/- and Rs.1500/- which is under challenge now.

6. It is claimed by the petitioners [ex-employees] that they worked under the direct control and supervision of the Education Department of the government. Hence, the petitioners are entitled to a regular pension. Even though the government has not regularized their services in view of their continuous service for more than several years, their services have not been regularized for all purposes.

7. The service conditions for the petitioners were also similar to those of government servants. Hence, the respondents are bound to sanction pensions to the petitioners on par with other government employees, and there shall be no arbitrariness in the sanction of a monthly pension commensurate with the salary of the petitioner; no appointments were made after 1989, and hence the petitioners are the last batch of available retired employees. Since sufficient funds are available to generate reasonable income for meeting the pensionary liabilities of the petitioners, there would not be any financial burden on the government.

8. A counter argument-of the government respondents is that the Bharat Scouts and Guides of Tamil Nadu is a registered organization and that it is only a non-governmenta