The classification of educational institutions into aided and unaided was rational and did not suffer from any constitutional or legal infirmity. The OPS ceased to apply to all employees of educational institutions that came under the grant-in-aid list after 01.04.2005, and the NPS applied to all such institutions.

JUDGMENT :

(Om Prakash Shukla, J.)

1. Heard Sri Sanjeev Singh, learned Standing Counsel appearing for the appellants-State authorities and Dr. L. P. Misra along with Sri G.C. Verma, Sri J.B.S. Rathour, Sri Vinay Misra, Sri P. K. Singh Bisen, Sri Prashant Arora, Sri Samrendra Nath Pandey, Sri Hari Prakash Yadav, Sri Neerav Chaurasiya, Sri Krishna Madhav Shukla, Sri Ajay Kumar, Pt. S. Chandra, Sri Mohd. Ateeq Khan, Sri Shobhit Mohan Shukla, Sri Prasiddha Narayan Singh, Sri Ram Kumar Maurya, Sri Vindhya Washini Kumar, Sri Ghaus Beg, Sri Umesh Kumar Srivastava and Sri Pradeep Kumar Shukla, learned Counsel appearing for the respondents at length.

2. In Special Appeal Defective No. 98 of 2022, the office has reported a delay of 38 days.

3. Having heard learned Standing Counsel appearing for the appellants and the learned Counsel for appearing for the respondents and having gone through the averments made in the application seeking condonation of delay, we find that the delay has sufficiently been explained. Accordingly, the prayer for condonation of delay is allowed and the delay in filing the special appeal is condoned.

4. The aforesaid Special Appeals have been filed under Chapter VIII Rule 5 of Allahabad High Court Rules, 1952 assailing the judgment and order dated 16.06.2021, as corrected vide order dated 07.07.2021 passed by the learned Single Judge in a bunch of writ petitions, leading Writ Petition No. 3458 (SS) of 2009, U.P. Senior Basic Shiksha Sangh v. State of U.P. and others, whereby the writ petitions filed by the petitioners/respondents have been allowed with certain directions. The operative portion of the impugned judgment and order reads as under:-

“The respondents are directed to treat the petitioners of the connected writ petitions and members of association of leading writ petition to be covered under Old Pension Scheme and to pay pension to the retired teaching and non teaching staff accordingly. It is further directed to permit the managements to deposit manager's contribution with simple interest excluding the deducted amount from each of the petitioner within a period of two months from the date of production of a certified copy of this order and to reckon the service rendered by the petitioners in the institutions from the date of their approval to the appointment made on their respective posts and to pay pension under OPS within a further period of two months from the date of production of a certified copy of this order. In case the service required for reckoning the qualifying service for the payment of pension is insufficient, the service rendered prior to taking into consideration on grant in aid list shall be counted for the purpose after deposit of managers contribution and accordingly the pension shall be released in their favour.”

BRIEF HISTORY

5. Before entering into the real question involved in the bunch of these intra-Court appeals, it would be apt to narrate the chequered history of the dispute as under:-

(a) One set of litigation traces its origin at High Court, Lucknow, whereas, the other having been instituted on the same issue at High Court of Judicature at Allahabad has also some bearing for the purpose of deciding the present bunch of Special Appeals and a brief discussion in this regard would be inevitable.

(b) The writ petitions filed at Lucknow were instituted ranging from the year 2009 to 2021. Likewise, the writ petitions instituted before this Court at Allahabad were also filed from the year 2009 onwards.

(c) It is relevant to clarify at the very outset that the institutions brought under grant-in-aid prior to 01.04.2005 having a limited grievance as regards the deposit of managerial contribution stood distinguished for the reason that their case was protected under the New Pension Scheme (NPS) in its well-defined terms, therefore, the issue of depositing the managerial contribution was set at