J U D G M E N T

Dated this the 28^th day of January, 2026 The petitioners, who are working as Additional Chief Technical Manager and Chief Technical Manager respectively at the Agency for New and Renewable Energy Research and Technology (ANERT), are before this Court seeking to quash Exts.P5 and P10 and to direct the 1^st respondent to uniformly fix the retirement age of all the employees of ANERT as 60 years.

2. The petitioners state that ANERT was functioning as a registered Society under the administrative control of Science and Technology and Environment Department of the Government of Kerala. The retirement age of the employees of the ANERT while it was under the Science, Technology and Environment Department, was 58 years.

3. The petitioners state that the Government, as per Ext.P1 Government Order dated 12.08.2003, transferred the administrative control of ANERT to the Power Department under the Government of Kerala, subject to the condition that the Research and Development Schemes accepted by the Science and Technology Council will continued to be financed under the Science and Technology Department.

4. Some of the employees of the ANERT filed W.P.(C) No.37895 of 2003 challeng