The court ruled that arbitrary delay in implementing age enhancement for retirement constitutes discrimination against employees, mandating reinstatement until the age of 60.

JUDGMENT :

N. NAGARESH, J.

1. These writ petitions are filed by employees under the Institute of Human Resource Development. The petitioners seek to direct the respondents to reinstate the petitioners in service and allow them to continue in service till they attain the age of 60 years.

2. The parties and exhibits in these writ petitions are referred to as they have been described/marked in W.P.(C) No.34527/2025, for convenience.

3. The petitioners were appointed as Assistant Lecturer/Workshop Assistant/Workshop Instructor/Tradesman, etc. in the Institute of Human Resources Development (IHRD). The IHRD is a Society registered under the Registration of Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Act, 1965. The control, administration and management of the Society are vested in the governing body. The governing body consists of 23 members, all of whom are government officials. IHRD is not a pensionable establishment. The age of retirement of employees in IHRD is 58 years.

4. The LBS Institute of Science and Technology is another institute established by the Government in similar lines. The age of retirement of the employees of the said LBS Institute was 58 years. The retirement age was enhanced by the Government to 60 years as per Ext.P17 GO dated 27.03.2025. The C.H. Mohammed Koya Memorial State Institute for the Mentally Challenged is another aided institute of the Government of Kerala. The governing council of the said institute recommended that age of retirement of its employees be enhanced from 56 to 58.

5. The governing body of IHRD also, as per its decision taken on 20.01.2024, recommended the Government to enhance the age of superannuation of all its employees to 60. A Cabinet meeting of the Government of Kerala held on 28.05.2025 considered the issue of enhancement of retirement age in C.H. Mohammed Koya Memorial State Institute for the Mentally Challenged and the IHRD. The Government in the said meeting decided to enhance the age of retirement of the employees of both the institutes. In respect of C.H. Mohammed Koya Memorial State Institute, the Government immediately issued GO dated 30.05.2025 enhancing the age of retirement, as per Ext.P18. The decision was not immediately implemented in IHRD.

6. An employee of IHRD, one Ravindran Pillai, filed W.P.(C) No.18609/2025 seeking to stall the enhancement of age of retirement in IHRD. The writ petition was dismissed as per Ext.P19 judgment. The said Ravindran Pillai filed W.A. No.1204/2025 before the Division Bench. The Division Bench also dismissed the appeal.

7. A by-election to the Kerala Legislative Assembly from Nilambur Legislative Constituency was underway during the time. One Sri. Ravi Mainagappally filed a complaint and consequently, the cabinet decision to enhance the age of retirement in IHRD was not implemented immediately. The Government issued Ext.P25 order enhancing the age of retirement of the employees of IHRD, only on 13.08.2025. By the said date, the petitioners were made to retire on superannuation on attaining the age of 58 years, on 31.05.2025.

8. The petitioners state that as the Government had taken a Cabinet decision on 28.05.2025, the benefit of the said decision should not have been denied to the petitioners on extraneous considerations. The Cabinet had decided to enhance the age of retirement of employees of the two establishments on 28.05.2025. The decision was implemented in respect of the other establishments on 30.05.2025. Consequent to the