- (1.) The appellants were employed in the erstwhile, Hindustan Steel Limited (H.S.L.), a Government of India undertaking. In the year 1973, Government of India formed a new Company, namely, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), and another new Company known as Metallurgical & Engineering Consultants (India) Limited (MECON). The Central Engineering Design Bureau (CEDB) a department of H. S.L. was transferred and merged in the MECON. Subsequently, after enactment of the Public Sector Iron and Steel Companies (Restructuring) Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1978 (hereinafter to be referred to as the Act), the H.S.L stood dissolved.
(2.) The appellants accepted the offer of appointment and joined the services in MECON. Under Section 15 of the 1978 Act, the appellants being the employees of the transferred unit C.E.D.B. continued as the employees of the corresponding unit of the transferee Company, MECON on the same terms and conditions of the Company and upon the same rights and privileges as to the retirement. Even after the aforesaid Act came into force, the appellants service conditions, particularly the age of superannuation remained as 58 years.
(3.) It was only in the year 1998 that MECON took a decision to raise the age of superannuation of its employees from 58 to 60 years. The said decision was taken pursuant to the Office memorandum issued by the Government of India on October 31, 2001. The General Manager (Personnel) of the MECON issued a circular, whereby the age of superannuation of all the categories of its employees was again reduced from 60 to 58 years.;