- (1.) The respondents in each of these cases were employees of Appellant 1 having joined the services of the Jammu and Kashmir government, Transport, which was later on designated as the government Transport Undertaking and subsequently, the said Undertaking was converted into the Road Transport Corporation (hereinafter referred to as "the Corporation") in terms of Section 3 of the Road Transport Corporations Act, 1950 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act") and the employees of the Transport Undertaking are stated to have been absorbed in the said Corporation though they were treated to be on deputation with effect from 1/9/1976 in terms of Section 45 of the Act. The State government by an order made on 27/3/1979 called upon the employees in the Undertaking who are now serving the Corporation to convey their option regarding their services making it clear that the permanent government servants, quasi- government servants with 5 years or more of such service as on the date of the formation of the Corporation have the option to either retain the pensionary benefits available to them under the government Rules or to be governed by the Rules of the Road Transport Corporation insofar as it related to the benefits consequent upon retirement. In case they exercise the former option, they would be entitled to receive that pension under the Pension Rules as may be in force in the government at the time of their retirement from the Corporation. It was further clarified on 29/3/1979 that such of the employees who do not exercise the option as stipulated in the order referred to just now, shall be deemed to have opted for service in the Road Transport Corporation and for retirement benefits, the Rules of the Road Transport Corporation would be applicable.
(2.) The age of retirement was 55 years as provided under the relevant Rules either in the government civil service or the Rules of the Corporation. Subsequently, the government amended the Rules by a notification made on 25/1/1987 providing that an employees in service on 1/1/1987 or appointed on or after that date shall retire on attaining the age of 58 years. The Jandk Civil Service Regulations were amended by inserting a proviso in between two existing provisos below Article 124 (1 and in Jandk Work-Charged employees Service Rules, 1972 by providing a proviso below the first para of Rule 10. The Corporation also wanted to raise the age of retirement to 58 years and the government accorded sanction to the same by an order made on 13/10/1987 in the following terms: "8.Raising of the retirement age of the employees of the Jandk State Public Sector Undertakings to 58 years with prospective effect subject to the condition that all these employees shall be screened on attaining the age of 55 years and only those of them shall be allowed to continue in service beyond 55 years as will stand the tests of physical fitness and proficiency. "
(3.) The respondents, however, were ordered to have retired with effect from the dates on which they attained the age of 55 years by various orders issued in the month of October 1987.;