(1.) IN this writ petition the petitioner has sought for quashing the proviso to Service Regulation 46 of the Central Bank of India (Officers) Service Regulation, 1979, contained in Annexure 4 to the writ petition and for issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to grant him pension by adding five years to his qualifying service on the basis of Regulation 26 of the Central Bank of India (Employees) Pension Regulations, 1995 (for short "the 1995 Regulations") and also to compute his pension and gratuity accordingly.
(2.) IN short, the relevant facts are that the petitioner joined the service of the respondent -Bank as Law Officer under specialised cadre having special qualification and experience in his field on 5.6.1975 at the age of 39 years. The petitioner on attaining the age of superannuation retired from service on 31.1.1994.
(3.) AS amended on 12.10.1996 can be held to be invalid. 4. It has been contended on behalf of the petitioner that as per the provision contained in Regulation 46 as existed before amendment the amount of gratuity payable to an officer was one month 'spay for every completed year of service, subject to the maximum of 15 months ' pay. In the instant case after revision of pay from retrospective date, i.e. 1.7.1993, i.e. before the date of retirement of the petitioner, he became entitled to get the gratuity calculated on that basis, but by the amended provision whereby the proviso to Regulation 46 of the said 1979 Regulations was added, the officers who ceased to be in service during the period from 1.7.1993 to 31.10.1994, have been deprived of the benefit of the revised scale for the purpose of calculation of gratuity, which according to him, is wholly illegal, arbitrary and violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.