The court affirmed that employees must timely exercise options for scheme conversion; delay undermines claims, reinforcing the doctrine of laches.

Judgment :

Chittaranjan Dash, J.

1. By means of the present writ petitions, the Petitioners call in question the legality and propriety of the orders passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Cuttack Bench in the respective Original Applications filed by them, whereby their claims seeking conversion from the CPF Scheme to the GPF-cum-Pension Scheme have been declined. Since the questions of fact and law arising in all the writ petitions are substantially similar and the impugned orders proceed on identical reasoning, the matters were heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgment.

2. The Petitioners in the present batch of writ petitions were employees under the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and had been governed by the CPF Scheme during the course of their service. After their retirement, or at a belated stage during service, the Petitioners sought conversion from the CPF Scheme to the GPF- cum-Pension Scheme, claiming entitlement to be brought under the pensionary regime applicable to similarly situated employees. Since the said claim was not acceded to by the authorities, the Petitioners approached the Central Administrative Tribunal, Cuttack Bench by filing separate Original Applications seeking direction for such conversion and for grant of consequential pensionary benefits. In certain cases, upon dismissal of the Original Applications, the concerned Petitioners also pursued Review Applications seeking reconsideration of the Tribunal’s decision. The Tribunal, upon consideration of the respective pleadings and materials placed on record, declined to grant the relief sought for by the Petitioners and dismissed the Original Applications. In the cases where Review Applications were filed, the Tribunal also declined to interfere with its earlier orders holding that no error apparent on the face of the record had been made out warranting review. It is these orders passed by the Tribunal which have been assailed in the present writ petitions.

3. Learned counsel appearing for the Petitioners assailed the impugned orders primarily on the ground that several similarly situated employees under the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan have been granted the benefit of conversion from the CPF Scheme to the GPF-cum-Pension Scheme pursuant to orders passed by different Benches of the Central Administrative Tribunal and referred to various High Court’s decisions. It was contended that such benefits having been extended and the challenges made by the institution before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India having not succeeded, denial of the same benefit to the present Petitioners would amount to discriminatory treatment. In support of such contention, reliance was placed upon the decision inUniversity of Delhi vs. Shashi Kiran and Others,(2022) SCC OnLine SC 594, wherein the Hon’ble Apex Court dealt with a batch of matters arising out of SLP Diary Nos. 13901 of 2017, 36222 of 2018, 36221 of 2018, 29577 of 2018 and 17008 of 2017. Learned counsel further referred to the judgment of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior Bench dated 09.05.2024 passed in Misc. Petition No.2864 of 2023, which was carried in challenge before the Hon’ble Apex Court in SLP(C) Diary No.47659 of 2024 and came to be dismissed on 29.11.2024. It was further submitted that the said orders have also been implemented by the institution concerned. Learned counsel a