- (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) These appeals challenge the judgment and order dated 28.03.2017 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Madras in Writ Petition Nos. 43373 to 43378, 37233 to 37236, 37238 and 37240 of 2016.
(3.) The basic facts leading to the filing of the aforesaid writ petitions were culled out by the High Court in paragraphs 4 to 6 of its judgment presently under appeal, as under: "4. The applicants are working as Officers in Tata Communication, which is a private sector undertaking. The applicants originally joined in the Department of Telecommunication and later, absorbed in VSNL. The VSNL was taken over by the Tata Communication with effect from 13.02.2002. The service rendered by the applicants in VSNL were pensionable. However, before they could complete the minimum required number of years of service to enable them to get pensionary benefits, their services came to be absorbed in the private sector, thereby denying them the minimum pension payable to them, otherwise. 5. In the above said circumstances, the applicants approached the Tribunal for relief of pensionary benefits by shifting their date of absorption in the VSNL to enable them to complete ten years of service in the Telecommunication Department and enable them to draw pension thereon. Initially, these applicants had approached the Tribunal in separate Original Applications and however, directions were issued to consider the grant of relief prayed by the applicants. However, it appears that the claim of the applicants was rejected for shifting of the date of absorption and for grant of pro-rata pension. Therefore, the applicants once again constrained to approach the Tribunal for the relief as extracted supra. 6. Before the learned Tribunal, it was contended on behalf of all the applicants that the prayer as far as in the Original Applications has been considered in similar applications and the Writ Petitions decided by this Court and in all the cases, the employees therein were granted the benefit of shifting of the date of absorption to enable them to complete the minimum ten years of service for them to claim pensionary benefits. The learned Tribunal quoted the order passed by this Court in few Writ Petitions and extracted the finding in one of the matters in paragraph # 9 of the impugned order. After appreciating the similar orders passed by this Court, the learned Tribunal allowed the Original Applications and by giving a direction as contained in paragraph-10 of the order, which is extracted below:- 10. It is, therefore, clear that the respondent authorities have implemented the Hon'ble High Court orders in the earlier OAs in similar matters. The learned counsel for the applicants could give the details of each of the similarly situated employees, who had been extended the benefit of the Hon'ble High Court Judgments to the respondent authority and the respondent authority are given liberty to verify those particulars and apply the orders of the Hon'ble Madras High Court to the effect that if the applicants are falling short of completion of 10 years service before absorption, that date could get postponed till completion of 10 years in the VSNL and that service would be deemed to be the requisite service required for pro-rata pension at the hands of the Central Government. On that basis, the pro-rata pension payable to the applicants shall be calculated and paid to the applicants. However, the applicants are required to refund the gratuity already received with 9 percent simple interest per annum. The Department will adjust the arrears and pay the balance to the applicants. If any amount is payable by the applicants, by calculating such amount with interest at 9 percent per annum, the applicants would refund the same within a period of three months from the date on which the communication would be received. The order shall be complied with within a period of three months from the date of receipt of a copy of the order. No costs." ;