FIR KUWAR Vs. COAL INDIA LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These matters have been referred to us as the question of constitutionality of the Coal India Special Female Voluntary Retirement Scheme, 2015 has arisen in all these matters. Under the said scheme, a female employee with the Coal India Ltd. is entitled to take voluntary retirement on attaining the age of 58 years as against normal age of superannuation of 60 years and nominate one of her dependents for permanent employment in Coal India Limited or its subsidiaries. In all these writ petitions, the petitioners seek in substance implementation of the said scheme. The learned Single Judge in W.P.(S) No. 4079 of 2016 referred the matter to us in following terms :-

(2.) No specific point of law for reference has been formulated in the five other writ petitions, but the Hon'ble referring Judges upon taking note of the opinion expressed and the course adopted in W.P.(S) No. 4079 of 2016 and finding similar point of law to be involved in these proceedings have referred these matters also.

(3.) There is an earlier decision of a Coordinate Bench delivered on 23/8/2017 in L.P.A. No. 340 of 2016 (Sumitra Devi vs M/s Coal India Ltd. Kolkata and Ors.) in which the Bench has found such scheme to be unconstitutional. The Coordinate Bench opined:-