D.P.Singh, J. - (1.) HEARD learned Counsel for the parties.
(2.) PLEADINGS are complete and the Counsel for the parties agree that the petition may be disposed off under the Rules of the Court. The dispute in this bunch of petitions is with respect to the age of retirement of the employees of U.P. Jal Nigam. Before the Court deals with the different set of petitioners, it would be appropriate to examine the back-ground which has led to the filing of these petitions. The State Legislature enacted U.P. Water Supply and Sewerage Act, 1975 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) and the State Government was empowered to issue notifications to constitute a Corporation under Section 3 known as U.P. Jal Nigam (hereinafter referred to as Nigam). In pursuance thereof it issued a notification establishing the Nigam w.e.f., 18th June, 1975. By virtue of Section 31 of the Act, all properties, assets etc. which vested before the appointed date in the Local Self Engineering Department of the State, stood vested in the Nigam. Under Section 37 of the Act, all the employees of the Local Self Government Engineering Department from the appointed date became the employees of the Nigam with same tenure, renumeration and other terms and conditions of service including the benefit of pension, gratuity etc., till the terms and conditions of service were altered by the Nigam.
(3.) THE Nigam directly recruited other employees and framed certain Service Rules, but wherever the Service Rules were silent, rules applying to Government employees were to be followed. THE Rules framed by the Nigam were silent on the age of superannuation. The age of superannuation of Government employees was 58 years vide Rule 56 (a) of the Financial Handbook (Vol. II to IV). The State Government vide its Notification dated 31st October, 1975 provided that in accordance with Section 37 of the Act, the service conditions of the employees of the Nigam would continue to remain the same and in pursuance thereof the Nigam took a decision on 4th April, 1977 that the service conditions would remain the same and the various provisions applicable to the Government servants would apply to the employees of the Nigam till it is altered by the Nigam. In pursuance of the power enjoined in Section 92 (c), the U.P. Jal Nigam Engineers (Public Health Branch) Service Regulations, 1978 and other allied Regulations, were framed.;