VINOD KUMAR JAIN Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) With the consent of learned counsel for the parties, the present batch of five Writ Petitions, all arising out of a common factual background and assailing the same order dtd. 14/8/2019 [hereinafter referred to as 'Impugned Order'] passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi [hereinafter referred to as 'the Tribunal'], are being heard together and disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) The principal question that arises for consideration in the present batch of matters is whether the amendment to Rule 56 of the Fundamental Rules, effected vide Notification dtd. 11/8/2018, insofar as it stipulates that doctors of the Central Health Service and other allied services may continue in service up to the age of 65 years only on non-administrative assignments, is arbitrary, unconstitutional, or otherwise unsustainable in law; and whether the Tribunal was justified in dismissing the Original Applications filed by the Petitioners and upholding the validity of the aforesaid amendment.

(3.) In order to appreciate the controversy involved in the present batch of Writ Petitions, it is necessary to notice the relevant and largely undisputed factual background, which constitutes the common substratum of all the Petitions.