Civil Appeal No 3549 NL of 1982
Appeal by Special leave against the Award passed by the Labour Court I Kanpur dated 16th December 1980 in Adjudication Case No 8 of 1980
section Markandeya for the Appellants
Hari Swarup Manoj Swarup and Ms Lalita Kohli for the Respondent
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by VARADARAJAN J
This appeal by special leave is directed against the award of the Labour Court Kanpur in Adjudication Case No 8 of 1980 holding that the retirement of the second respondent Jag Dutt from 3131979 is unjustifiable and directing his reinstatement with back wages with a right to work so long as he is physically fit
The second respondent entered service as a coolie on 1141945 under the then Kanpur Electricity Supply Corporation Limited
No date of birth was mentioned in his service card and there was no age of retirement for employees in that concern
That establishment was nationalised on 1591947 and thereafter it became a department of the Government of Uttar Pradesh
The new management Kanpur Electricity Supply Administration filled up the second respondent s age as 20 years 9 months without asking him for any certificate regarding his date of birth
His date of birth is 2461924 and an entry about his date of birth has been made in the Police Station Chawani Basti at the instance of the Chowkidar of that village
The new management got its standing orders certified without making any provision 284 for age of retirement
The State Government made it clear that the workmen to whom the applied would not be governed by the Civil Service Classification Control and Appeal Rules
The Electricity Board constituted under the took over the workmen of the erstwhile Kanpur Electricity Supply Administration from 141949 making it clear that their service conditions will not be adversely affected
That position regarding the service conditions of the employees was reiterated in Government Order No 3679 E71 21 PB dated 141971 and the Electricity Department s Chief Engineer s letter dated 231972
The initial condition was that the second respondent should work so long as he was physically fit to work without any age of retirement
However the Kanpur Electricity Supply Administration retired the second respondent from 3131979 on the ground that he has completed 58 years
This retirement is invalid for two reasons namely that his date of birth is 2461924 and that there is no age of retirement so far as employees like the second respondent who had joined service under the Kanpur Electricity Supply Corporation Limited are concerned
The new management had allowed 19 named workmen to retire when they were 60 to 75 years old
The second respondent has thus been retired not only before he completed 58 years his date of birth being 2461924 but also in contravention of his conditions of service according to which there is no age of retirement
This was the second respondent s case before the Labour Court
The defence of the appellant management was that though when the Electricity Board was constituted and the management of the Kanpur Electricity Supply Administration was taken over in 1948 no age of retirement was prescribed for the employees the Electricity Board framed regulations under s79C of the subsequently prescribing the age of retirement as 58 years and 60 years and the second respondent was retired on 3131979 under those regulations
It is open in law for the Electricity Board to frame regulations prescribing the age of retirement of its employees even where initially there was no age of retirement as has been held by the Allahabad High Court and this Court
The second respondent s retirement is valid and cannot be set aside
The Labour Court found that the second respondent joined service as a cooly under the Kanpur Electricity Supply Corporation Limited on 1151945 and he became the State Government s employee on 1691947 when that establishment was taken over by 285 Kanpur Electricity Supply Administration and the employees of that Administration became the employees of the State Electricity Board when it took over that Undertaking after that Board was constituted on 141959
It was not disputed that by the Regulations framed under section 79C of the  age of retirement fixed at 58 or 60 years and that those Regulations were notified on 2851972 under section 138B of the 
But the Labour Court found that even after the publication of those Regulations the new management made it clear to the employees by Government s Order No 3679 E71 23 PB dated 171979 that even after absorption of the employees their old conditions of service would continue in the same way and that a similar assurance had been given to the second respondent by the documents marked as Ex
B 9 to B 15 that the Regulations would not apply to him and he could work so long as he was physically fit without any age of retirement
In this view the Labour Court held that the second respondent s retirement from 3131979 inspite of the fact that he is physically fit is invalid in law and it accordingly allowed the second respondent s claim as mentioned above
The Labour Court has not recorded any finding regarding the second respondent s actual date of birth
In this Court no argument was advanced by the learned counsel on either side on that question
The only point argued before this Court by Mr section Markendeya learned counsel for the appellants and Mr Hari Swarup learned Senior counsel appearing for the second respondent was as to the binding nature of the Regulations framed by the Electricity Board under s79C of the fixing age of retirement as 58 years in regard to workmen like the second respondent who were originally employees of the Kanpur Electricity Supply Corporation Limited
By Order dated 3101978 of the General Manager of the UP State Electricity Board in the department of Kanpur Electricity Supply Administration eleven employees including the second respondent were retired on attaining the age of superannuation with effect from 3131979 on the basis that according to the Board s records they were completing 58 years on that date
There is no dispute that the Board has framed Regulations under s79C of the fixing the age of retirement of employees like the second respondent at 58 years and that the Regulations have been notified under s13B of the 
Mr Hari Swarup admitted before us that the Regulations have statutory force
The Member Secretary of 286 the UP State Electricity Board had informed the government employees whose Services had been lent to the Board on deputation that their salary allowances and other conditions of service shall be governed by Regulations made by the Board under s79C of the from time to time
It is not disputed that the second respondent had thereafter exercised his option to serve in the UP State Electricity Board
The second respondent is therefore bound by the Regulation by which the age of retirement has been fixed in regard to employees like him at 58 years
A similar question arose before a Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court in Bhai Lal and another vs Superintending Engineer Allahabad where it has been held as follows Once the regulations framed under s79c of the have been notified by the State Government under s13 B of the  the standing orders framed by the erstwhile licencee to the extent they concerned the subject dealt with by the regulations became ineffective and inoperative and that in respect of such matter the right of the parties would be governed only by the regulation so notified
In the circumstances even if it be a fact that the standing orders framed by the erstwhile licencee contained a clause specifying an age higher then 58 years as age of superannuation for its employees the employee would none the less as provided in the notified regulation be superannuated at the age of 58 years
 A similar question arose before this Court in UP State Electricity Board and others vs Hari Shanker Jain and others to which two of us were parties
There it has been held that the is a special law in regard to the matters enumerated in the schedule and the regulations made by the Electricity Board with respect to any of those matters are of no effect unless such regulations are either notified by the Government under s13B or certified by the Certifying Officer under section 5 of the 
In regard to matters in respect of which regulations made by the Board have not been notified by the Governor or in respect of which no regulations have been made by the Board the Industrial Employment Standing 287 Orders Act shall continue to apply
In that case the regulation made by the Board with regard to the age of superannuation had been duly notified by the Government and it has been held that the regulation had effect notwithstanding the fact that it was a matter which could be the subject matter of standing orders the and that the respondents in that appeal had been properly retired when they attained the age of 58 years
In view of the admitted fact that the regulations framed by the Board under s79C of the have been notified by the Government under section 13B of the we hold that the second respondent is bound by those regulations in which the age of retirement has bean admittedly fixed at 58 years and that he has no reason to complain against his retirement on that basis with effect from 3131979
The appeal is accordingly allowed and the order of the appellant retiring the second respondent with effect from 3131979 is upheld
It is however made clear that the second respondent shall not be liable to refund any amount paid to him under orders of the Court pending these proceedings and that he is entitled to draw the sum of Rs 2000 which has been directed to be deposited towards his costs in this appeal
PBR Appeal allowed


Summary:
The respondent workman entered service as a coolie in 1945 under the Kanpur Electricity Supply Corporation Limited
When the time the company had no rules as to the age of retirement for its employees and therefore his date of birth was not entered in the service card
When the Corporation was nationalised the new management without asking him as to his date of birth showed his age as 20 years 9 months
From the village records it was found that he was born on 2461924
Meanwhile the new management got the Standing Orders certified without making any provision for the age of retirement
When the Electricity Board constituted under the  took over the management of the Administration in 1949 it was made clear that conditions of service of workmen would not be adversely affected
But on 31st January 1979 the workman was retired from service on the ground that he had completed 58 years of age
The workman complained that he was retired in contravention of his conditions of service according to which there was no age of retirement
The labour court held that even after framing the regulations under section 79C of the  fixing the age of retirement at 58 and notifying them under section 13B of the Industrial Employment Standing orders Act 1946 the new management made it clear to the employee that old service conditions of the employees would continue to operate and that a similar assurance was given to the respondent in writing that the new regulations would not apply to him
In this view the respondent s retirement was held to be invalid
Allowing the appeal
HELD The workman is bound by the regulations fixing the age of retirement at 58 and therefore his retirement on attaining the age of superannuation was correct
287 C The is a special law in regard to matters enumerated in the schedule
The regulations made by the Electricity Board with respect to any of those matters are of no effect unless 283 they are either notified by the Government under section 13B or certified by the Certifying Officer under section 5 of the Standing Orders Act
In regard to matters in respect of which regulations made by the Board have not been notified by the Governor or in respect of which no regulations had been made by the Board the Standing Orders Act would continue to apply
Since in the instant case the regulations framed by the Board with regard to the age of retirement under section 79C have been notified by the Government under section 13B of the Standing Orders Act the respondent is bound by those regulations and his retirement on attaining the age of 58 years was correct
286 F H 287 A B UP State Electricity Board and others vs Hari Shanker Jain and others 19791 SCR 355 applied