Document Fragment View

Matching Fragments

4. Despite the above assurance, the petitioners have not received pensionary benefits, from APEDA, as were payable to government employees under the CCS (Pension) Rules. This is the principle grievance of the petitioners.

5. While they were in service with the APEDA, the APEDA, vide Notification dated 18 January 1994, notified the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Regulations 19862.

6. Regulation 1(2) of the APEDA Regulations clearly stated that they would come into force on the date of their publication in the official gazette. They did not, therefore, have retrospective effect.

7. Regulation 32(1) of the APEDA Regulations which, according to Ms. Zehra Khan, learned Counsel for APEDA, constitutes an apparently insurmountable hurdle to the APEDA abiding by its assurance, to the petitioners, that they would be entitled to pensionary benefits as applicable to Central Government employees, read thus:

(ii) the draft APEDA Regulations of 1986 be directed to be promulgated and make applicable to all retired employees of APEDA,

(iii) the Ministry of Commerce be directed to exempt APEDA from the applicability of Section 17(1)(c) of the EPF Act,

(iv) the Ministry of Commerce be directed to grant approval to the SBI Pension Scheme applicable to retired employees of APEDA and

16. Effect of APEDA Regulations 16.1 Insofar as the APEDA Regulations are concerned, we are of the opinion that Regulation 32 thereof cannot stand in the way of the aforenoted pensionary benefits to which the petitioners are entitled.

16.2 The caveat "if no provision is made in these regulations or otherwise", as contained in Regulation 32(1), would clearly save the applicability of the stipulation in the advertisement dated 5 September 1987, whereagainst the petitioners were appointed, to the effect that they would be entitled to superannuation benefits of pension, gratuity etc., as applicable to employees of the Government of India. Moreover, the APEDA Regulations came into force only on the date of their notification in the Gazette, and there is nothing in the APEDA Regulations, or at least in Regulation 32, imbuing it with retrospective effect. The terms and conditions of the advertisement dated 5 September 1987, whereunder the petitioners were appointed could not, in our view, be affected the APEDA Regulations, which came into force more than 7 years thereafter.