Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Friday dismissed petitions filed by some retired state government employees seeking enhancement of the age of superannuation – and with retrospective effect.
The petitioners contended that the decision should be applied either from the date such an election promise was made by the ruling party in 2018 or from the day the state governor promised an enhancement of retirement age during his Republic Day speech this year, or from December 31, 2020, when the state’s first pay revision commission submitted its report recommending an increase in the age for retirement from 58 to 60.
The petitioners challenged the fixation of the cut-off date from March 31, 2021, by issuing the amending Act No.3 of 2021 and the GO Ms45, dated March 30.
A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Sharma and Justice Rajashekar Reddy pronounced the judgment in a batch of petitions. The bench said it saw no reason to intervene in the government decision.
The high court relied on the judgments passed by the Supreme Court in the UP Jal Nigam employees case and in relation to the employees of New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (Noida). The apex court took into account the doctrine of legitimate expectation.
The petitioners argued that since a promise had been made by the ruling party at the time of the assembly elections, its government must implement it. The governor had also made such a promise. Hence, the fixation of the cut-off date as 31 March 2021 was bad, illegal and against law in the light of the doctrine of promissory estoppel, they argued.
It had also been pointed out that the pay revision commission has submitted a report on 31 December 2020 for enhancement of the age of superannuation from 58 to 60 years and as in respect of granting higher pay scale.
The court observed that the assurance given by some ruling party leader or by the CM or by the governor does not mean it has become law. “It is for the legislature to enact a law or amend a law.” This has been done by the legislature by amending the Telangana Public Employment (Regulation of Age of Superannuation) Act, 1984 and introduction of the Telangana Public Employment (regulation of age of superannuation) (Amendment) Act, 2021 (Act No.3 of 2021), the court noted.
