VIJAYA BANK BANGALORE Vs. SUVASINI S SHETTY BANGALORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This conglomeration of appeals challenge the judgment dated 08.04.2011 pronounced by learned Single Judge (Anand Byrareddy J.) concerning the claim of several erstwhile employees of the appellant banks who had availed of a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) offered to them by the employer banks vide Circular dated 15.12.2000. The writ petitions are substantially similar in content inasmuch as, the prayers therein are to quash the sundry Circulars which attempt to amend Regulation 29(5) of the Bank Employees Pension Regulations 1995 ('Pension Regulations 1995' for brevity) and thereby deprive them of the benefit of an addition of five years to their respective "qualifying service"; and secondly, for computing the pension in accordance with Regulation 38 of the Pension Regulations 1995, i.e., predicating the computation on the average emoluments drawn in the preceding ten months of their service. The factual matrix leading up to the respondent -employees seeking reliefs in the writ petition is that the appellant - Banks adopted VRS, as formulated by the Indian Bank's Association with the approval of the Central Government. The scheme adopted by the Banks although separately, is identical and bears similar salient features with minor variations. The salient features of the Scheme [VRS - 2000] as elucidated in the case of Bank of India and Others v. Mohandas and Others, 2009 5 SCC 313 read as follows :-

(2.) The Banks had made their Regulations in respect of pension separately.

(3.) The admitted factual position in these batch of appeals is that each of the employees had completed 20 years of service. The employees of the various Banks who opted for retirement under the Scheme have been given retiral benefits except the benefit of Regulations under the Regulation 29(5) of the Pension Regulations, 1995. It deals with addition of a period of qualifying service not exceeding five years and the total qualifying service rendered by an employee not exceeding 33 years. In other words, employees sought for addition of notional five years of service in calculating the length of service for the purpose of Scheme as per Regulations 29(5) of the Pension Regulations, 1995.