Hon’ble Dr. Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud, C.J.—The respondents, who are the original petitioners in writ proceedings instituted before the learned Single Judge under Article 226 of the Constitution, are working as Assistant Teachers or, as the case may be, Head Masters of primary institutions conducted and managed by the Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Board at Allahabad. The institutions are recognized under the Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Act, 1972 (Act). The Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Teachers Service Rules, 1981 (Rules) framed under the Act, are applicable to teachers of primacy schools. Rule 29 provides as follows:

“29. Age of superannuation.—Every teacher shall retire from service in the afternoon of the last day of the month in which he attains the age of 62 years:

Provided that a teacher who retires during an academic session (July 1 to June 30) shall continue to work till the end of the academic session, that is, June 30 and such period of service will be deemed as extended period of employment.”

2. For convenience of reference, we are referring to the parties by their description in the original writ petition. The dates of birth of the four petitioners are r