STATE OF WEST BENGAL Vs. RABINDRA NATH MUNSI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The two appellants are the State of West Bengal and The Principal Secretary, Department of Finance, Government of West Bengal. They have challenged the judgment and order dated, 15th June, 2016 passed by the learned Single Judge in W.P. 25761 (W) of 2014, which was filed by seventy one writ petitioners.

(2.) Writ petitioner/respondent Nos. 1 to 71 are erstwhile employees of the West Bengal Comprehensive Area Development Corporation (in short, CADC). They retired from service before 1st April, 2008. Till their retirement, there was no pension scheme for the employees of CADC although the employees had been demanding introduction of such scheme since long past. However, they were under the Contributory Provident Fund (in short, CPF) scheme where employer contributes its share in the accounts of individual employees and the Provident Fund Authority pays a small amount of pension to them during their life time after retirement. The writ petitioners availed all the retiral benefits on their retirements on different dates as per the CPF scheme before 01.04.2008.

(3.) CADC introduced The West Bengal Comprehensive Area Development Corporation Employees' (Death-cum-Retirement) Benefit Regulations, 2008, (in short, WBCADC-DCRB) which was passed on 10.l2.2008 with effect from 01.04.2008. In the writ petition, the petitioners alleged, in substance, that as per the said Regulations, the pension scheme has been adopted by CADC but they have been arbitrarily discriminated against, depriving them of pension facilities only because they retired from service before 01.04.2008. According to them, the cut-off date 1st April, 2008 is arbitrary and irrational. The benefit under these Regulations should be extended to all erstwhile retired employees of CADC. They expressed their willingness to refund the employer's share towards the CPF with interest which they received on retirement if they are included in the WBCADC-DCRB Regulations. During the course of hearing before the First Court as well as before this Court, they claim pensionary benefit relying on the principles as discussed in the judgment of the Supreme Court of India in the case of D.S. Nakara and others Vs. Union of India reported in (1983) 1 SCC 305.