Ajay Rastogi, J. - (1.) INSTANT writ petition has been jointly filed by the petitioners who as alleged are retired employees of various companies namely Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Ltd., Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. & Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd. & Jodhpur Discom, created after unbundling of the then Rajasthan State Electricity Board with the grievance that though they had upend for CPF scheme & are members of the Rajasthan State Electricity Board Payment of Gratuity Rules, 1972 ("Rules, 1972") but a discrimination has been made by the respondents by creating retired employees into two different classes for the purpose of grant of gratuity; one alike present petitioners who opted for CPF scheme & members of the Rules, 1972 & the others who opted for pension & were members of the RSEB Employees Pension Regulations, 1988 ("Regulations, 1988").
(2.) IT manifests from the record that on 28.06.1957 the then Rajasthan State Electricity Board was constituted to produce/generate, transmit & supply of electricity in the State of Rajasthan and at the relevant point of time Contributory Provident Fund Scheme (CPF) was introduced & made applicable to the employees of the erstwhile Board & became effective for those who were appointed on or after 01.07.1957 & in the year 1972 the Board notified the Rules, 1972 for the purpose of providing gratuity to its employees to a maximum amount of gratuity equal to 20 months' salary or Rs. 24,000/ - whichever was less & from time to time it came to be enhanced by issuing various orders due to revision of pay -scale by the department & amended in accordance with the provisions of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 & made it applicable only to such of the employees who opted for CPF Scheme & continued to be the members of the Rules, 1972 but sometime thereafter Regulations, 1988 came to be introduced & made applicable w.e.f. 28.11.1988 and thus both the categories of the employees who opted for CPF Scheme or pension as the case may be, their retiral benefits and gratuity in particular are regulated separately & under the Rules, 1972 & Regulations, 1988 respectively & it has a statutory force. It may be further noticed that the government under its policy dissolved the erstwhile RSEB and its assets & liabilities were inherited to five companies which adopted those Rules which were earlier existing & introduced by the then erstwhile RSEB for its employees; viz -a -viz one who opted for CPF became member of the Rules, 1972 & the other who opted for Pension became member of the Regulations, 1988. However, Explanation (2) appended to the Rules, 1972 clearly excludes/eliminates such of the employees who were working in the Board but were eligible for pension & gratuity as per the Rules of the State Government and at the same time R.12 envisages that the gratuity shall be payable in terms & accordance with the amendments if any made from time to time under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 & further provides that it shall not be in any case less favourable to those employees who opted for CPF & members of the Rules, 1972, at the same time those who became members of Pension Regulations, 1988 they were covered u/R3(j) and excluded such of the employees who are members of CPF scheme & continue to be the member of said scheme and as regards gratuity is concerned Reg. -47 of the Regulations, 1988 postulates that the decision & interpretations given by the Government of Rajasthan in respect of pension & gratuity Rules, with amendments from time to time, being similarly worded as these regulations, shall apply mutatis mutandis to the employees of the Board who have opted for pensionary benefits.
(3.) SINCE these are two separate schemes available for the employees of the Board; who opted for CPF Scheme became member of the Rules, 1972 and those who opted for pension became member of Regulations, 1988 as the case may be & shall be governed accordingly.;