P.BANDOPADHYA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India the petitioners who were the employees of the erstwhile Department of Overseas Communication Services (OCS) of the Government of India absorbed in the services of the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (for short 'VSNL') now known as 'Tata Telecommunications Ltd -Respondent no.4, are seeking pensionary benefits under the Office Memorandum dated 5 July 1989 issued by the Government of India, Department of Pension and Pension Welfare.

(2.) This writ petition was initially dismissed by an order dated 26 April 2006. The Petitioners had approached the Supreme Court in a Civil Appeal No.3059 of 2007. The Supreme Court by an order dated 14 July 2011 allowed the appeal setting aside the orders passed by this Court thereby remanding the writ petition to be decided afresh, on merits and in accordance with law, leaving open all questions of fact and law on the ground that the writ petition was not examined by this Court on merits. This is how the writ petition is placed before us for final hearing.

(3.) The case of the petitioners is that in the year 1986 a policy decision was taken by the Government of India to convert the Department of Overseas Communication Services into an autonomous corporation namely the VSNL. After the said conversion the Department of Pensions and Pension Welfare of the Government of India issued a Office Memorandum dated 5 July 1989 providing that on conversion of a Government department into an autonomous body the question of settlement of pensionary terms were reviewed in the light of the recommendations of the committee of the National Council. It was provided that the terms and conditions which may be applicable for the settlement of pensionary benefits on such conversion of a Government department into a public sector undertaking/autonomous body would be as set out in this Office Memorandum. The relevant extract of the Office Memorandum reads thus: