- (1.) This Petition has been filed under Art. 32 of the Constitution of India by the pensioners, all of whom are said to be over 75 years of age and had been serving the Assam Oil Company Limited, having retired on or before October 13, 1981. These petitioners claim benefit of the revised pension scheme as made admissible to the retirees of Indian Oil Corporation without any distinction or cut-off date of retirement.
(2.) The Assam Oil Company Ltd. as well as the Burmah Oil Company Limited were nationalized and taken over by the Government of India by virtue of the Burmah Oil Company (Acquisition of Shares of Oil India Ltd. and of the Undertakings in India of Assam Oil Company Limited and the Burmah Oil Co. (India Trading Ltd.)) Act, 1981 (hereinafter to be referred to as 'the Act'). As per provisions of Section 5 of the Act, with effect from the appointed date, namely 14-10-1981 the right, title and interest of the said companies in relation to their undertakings in India were to be transferred and vested in the Central Government. Under sub-section (1) of Section 6 of the Act, the undertakings of the companies would be deemed to include all assets, rights, powers, books of accounts, records etc. including the borrowings, liabilities including the liability for the payment of taxes, if any, and for the payment of any pension and other pensionary benefits to the persons employed in relation to its undertakings in India etc. By virtue of S. 9 of the Act the undertakings vested in the Central Government, instead of continuing to be so, could later be vested in one or more government companies. There is no dispute about the fact that the Assam Oil Company Limited after having been taken over and vesting in the Central Government, later vested in the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (Assam Oil Division) vide Notification dated 13-10-1981. All the employees of the specified company employed immediately before the appointed date became officers and the employees of the Central Government/successor Government Company. Sub-section (1) of Section 11 relevant for the purposes reads as under : "11.(1) Every whole-time officer or other employee of a specified company who was, immediately before the appointed day, employed by that company in connection with its undertakings in India, and every whole-time officer or other employee of a specified company who was, immediately before the appointed day, temporarily holding any assignment outside India shall on the appointed day, become an officer or other employee, as the case may be, of the Central Government or the concerned Government Company (hereinafter referred to as the successor Government Company) in which the right, title and interest of the specified company in relation to its undertakings in India have vested under this Act and shall hold office or service under the Central Government, or the successor Government Company, as the rights to pension, gratuity and other matters as would have been admissible to him if there had been no such vesting and shall continue to do so unless and until his employment under the Central Government or the successor Government company is duly terminated or until his remuneration and conditions of service are duly altered by the Central Government or the successor Government Company. (2) to (4) xxx xxx" We find that in regard to those employees who were in receipt of pension or other pensionary benefits immediately before the appointed date, a provision has been made under Section 12 of the Act, which reads as under : "12.(1) Where a provident, superannuation, welfare or other fund has been established by a specified company for the benefit of the persons employed by it in connection with its undertakings in India, or for the benefit of such persons and persons employed by Oil India, the money relatable to the employees - a) whose services are transferred by or under this Act to the Central Government or the successor Government Company, or as the case may be, continued with Oil India, or b) who are in receipt of pension or other pensionary benefits immediately before the appointed day shall, out of the moneys standing, on that day, to the credit of such provident, superannuation, welfare or other fund, stand transferred to, and vested in, the Central Government or the successor Government Company, or Oil India, as the case may be, free from any trust that may have been constituted by the specified company in respect thereof. 2) The moneys which stand transferred, under sub-section (1) to the Central Government or the successor Government Company or Oil India shall be dealt with by the Central Government or that Company, or Oil India, as the case may be, in such manner as may be prescribed. 3) The successor Government Company or Oil India, as the case may be, shall, as soon as may be after the appointed day, constitute, in respect of the moneys and other assets which are transferred to, and vested in it under this section, one or more trusts having objects as similar to the objects of the existing trust, as in the circumstances may be practicable; so, however, that the rights and interest of the beneficiaries of the trust referred to in sub-section (1) are not, in any way, prejudiced or diminished. 4) Where all the moneys and other assets belonging to an existing trust are transferred to, and vested in the Central Government, or the successor Government Company or Oil India under this section, the trustees of such trust shall, as from the date of such vesting, stand discharged from the trust except as respects things done or omitted to be done before the date of such vesting." The case of the petitioners is that by virtue of provisions contained in Section 12 quoted above, the existing fund for the purposes of pension of the retired employees as it stood on 13-10-1981 out of which petitioners were paid pensionary benefits also stood transferred to the successor Company, namely, the Indian Oil Corporation (Assam Oil Division) (Central Government). It is further the case of the petitioners that by virtue of the above said provision, they have been receiving their pensionary benefits from the Indian Oil Corporation (AOD). It was in 1995 that the Indian Oil Corporation promulgated a formula for revision of pension in respect of Indian Oil Corporation (AOD). The said notification relating to staff pension fund is dated 10-3-1995. However, the said Scheme was made applicable to those employees who had retired after 1-12-1994. The said cut-off date was, however, challenged by some of the retired employees of the Indian Oil Corporation (AOD) objecting to the cut-off date. This Court in the said petition filed under Art. 32 of the Constitution set aside the cut-off date deleting the words "retiring from December, 1994 onwards" from the Notification. The said decision is reported in 2001 (8) SCC p. 71, Subrata Sen and others v. Union of India and others but the benefit of the revised pension scheme was not made admissible to the petitioners namely, the retirees prior to 14-10-1981 i.e. before the date of nationalization of the Assam Oil Company Ltd. The case of the petitioners is that the pensioners were covered under the Assam Oil Staff Pension Fund which was reconstituted by virtue of Section 12(3) of the Nationalisation Act and after nationalization they have been getting pension under the said Scheme, therefore, they cannot be denied the benefit of revision of pension which took place in 1995. As pensioners of the erstwhile Assam Oil Company Ltd. their relationship continues as such with the successor Company by virtue of clause (4) sub-section (1) of Section 12 of the Act like that of the existing staff of the Assam Oil Company Ltd. with the successor Company after nationalization.
(3.) The respondents have disputed the claim of the petitioners. Their case is that the retirees prior to 14-10-1981 were not the employees transferred to the successor Company by virtue of S. 11 of the Nationalisation Act. It does not cover the employees who had already retired before the taking over of the Assam Oil Company Ltd. That being the position the Notification dated 10-3-1995 modifying the Scheme of 1983 revising the pensionary benefits does not apply to the petitioners. It is further averred in the counter affidavit that liability of pension and pensionary benefits of the retired employees, is taken care of, as provided under Section 6(1) of the Nationalisation Act. It is also denied that any fund was established by the Assam Oil Company Ltd. or was transferred under Section 12(1) of the Nationalisation Act to the Central Government/Indian Oil Corporation for pensionary benefits of the employees retired prior to 14-10-1981. The Scheme of 1973 out of which petitioners had been deriving the pensionary benefits, was for purchase of annuities from the Life Insurance Corporation for such employees before their retirement. Paragraph 19 of the counter affidavit is quoted below : "19. That the contents of para 5(xiv) are wrong and denied. Under the Assam Oil Company Pension Fund Rules and Scheme 1973, the member of the Scheme was being purchased annuities on or before his retirement and it was from the said annuity purchased in his name that he continues to derive pension for his life. There is nothing to the credit of the person under the Fund after annuities were purchased in his name. That being so no money is transferred under Section 12(1) of the Act in so far as the person who stood retired on or before the appointed date like the petitioners. The petitioners are getting pension from LIC by virtue of their being beneficiaries of the annuities purchased in their name and not from the Funds which stood transferred from Assam Oil Company to IOC. It is wrong to suggest that the petitioners are entitled to any additional benefits as have been granted to the retired employees who had retired on or after 14-10-1981 as per the judgment of this Hon'ble Court." The respondents submit that the Indian Oil Corporation (AOD) Staff Pension Fund Scheme, 1983 was not meant for the retirees who had retired earlier as employees of the Assam Oil Company Ltd., viz. those who had never become the employees of the Indian Oil Corporation. Therefore, they were not the beneficiaries of the Scheme of 1983. The Annuity based benefit as in vogue prior to the taking over the Company, under the Scheme of 1973, it continues and the petitioners are entitled to pensionary benefits based on annuity purchased on their behalf. It is further sought to be impressed that it was a kind of an arrangement between those employees in whose names annuities were purchased and the LIC. There was no pensionary Fund or any other monies for the benefit of the retired employees covered under the Scheme of 1973. Thus the employees who had already retired before the appointed day could have no link with the successor Company which had taken over after the retirement of the petitioners. In so far the employees who were in service of the Assam Oil Company Ltd. on the appointed day of taking over, a new Scheme was promulgated for them in the year 1983 creating a trust for the pensionary benefit of such employees. The retirees of pre-appointed day are neither covered nor have any concern with the Scheme of 1983 and that being the position there is no occasion for them to take any benefit of the revision of pension in 1995.;