Employees of government corporations cannot claim pensionary benefits equivalent to those of other organizations unless their financial conditions permit. The court cannot direct policy changes affecting financial implications.

JUDGMENT

1. This batch of writ petitions are based on similar set of facts and involve common question of law, to avoid rigmarole are decided by this common judgment with the consent of learned counsel appearing for the parties.

2. By way of filing the above batch of writ petitions, the petitioner i.e. All Tripura EPS Pensioners' and Employees' Association, registered under Trade Act, 1926, represented by its Secretary has claimed the following reliefs:

'(i) Admit the petition of the Petitioner;

(ii) Issue notice upon the respondents;

(iii) Call for records relevant to the subject matter;

(iv) Issue writ setting aside/quash the Order F.No. 8(2)-FIN(G)/2015 (PII)/ 846-874, dated 28.08.2020 (Annexure-6) forthwith;

(v) Issue Writ directing the respondent no. 1 to provide similar Pension benefit as granted to the other similarly situated Tripura Govt. Undertakings namely Tripura Board of Secondary Education, Tripura Govt. aided private Schools;

(vi) Issue Writ directing the respondent to grant minimum pension of Rs. 8,000/- (Eight Thousand) only to 4 retired pensioners including 2 Family Pensioners of TRTCL who are the members of petitioner Association;

(vii) Pass such further order or orders, direction or directions as the Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper having regards to the circumstances of the case.'

3. Background fact is that, the petitioner had approached this court by filing a writ petition no. WP(C) 1084 of 2019 claiming above quoted similar reliefs. While disposing of the said writ petition vide order dated 13.09.2019 a Division Bench of this court had passed the following directions upon the respondents as well as to the petitioner-organization:-

'Without going into the technicalities and the prayer made by the learned counsel being innocuous in nature, which the State in any case is duty bound to decide, we dispose of the instant writ petition with the following directions:

(a) The petitioners shall submit their fresh representation(s) before the appropriate authority(s).

(b) Upon receipt thereof, the authority shall consider and decide the same, expeditiously, in accordance with law.

(c) Preferably, such representation shall be considered and decided within a period of six months from the date of receipt thereof.

(d) Needless to add, if the petitioners are still aggrieved, it shall be open for them to take recourse to such remedies as are otherwise available in accordance with law.

(e) All issues including the maintainability of the writ petition in its present form, are left open.

With these observations and directions, the present writ petition stands disposed of. Pending application(s), if any, also stands disposed of.'

4. Consequent to above directions, the State-respondents had constituted an expert committee. The expert committee had taken personal hearing of the petitioners through their representative i.e. the Secretary of the petitioners' organization. The committee had considered the case of each of the Corporation.

5. Having gone through the report, it appears that the expert body of the State-respondents took note of the financial status of each of the Corporation. The committee also had taken into account the circumstances under which some of the autonomous bodies like Tripura Board of Secondary Education, the government aided school and educational institutions, the Agartala Municipal Corporation and Tripura Social Welfare Advisory Board are being paid pension benefit at par with the retired government employees. It is found that provision of providing pension benefit to these organizations has been made either by adopting the Civil Services (Pension)Rules, 1972 or introducing separate pension scheme.

6. It further comes to fore that these aut