THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE A.GOPAL REDDY and THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE G.CHANDRAIAH W.P.No.13754 of 2000 Date of Order: 16-11-2009 Between: E.Krishna Swamy ..Petitioner and 1. Union of India rep. by Secretary to Govt. of India Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions, Department of Pensions and Pensioners Welfare, New Delhi and two others. ..Respondents The Court made the following Order: THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE A.GOPAL REDDY and THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE G.CHANDRAIAH W.P.No.13754 of 2000 Oral Order: (Per Honourable Sri Justice A.Gopal Reddy) 1. Petitioner, who retired from service on attaining the age of superannuation of 58 years, filed O.A.No.1112 of 1998 before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad Bench, Hyderabad questioning the cut off date as 01-04-1995 for the purpose of payment of gratuity to the retired employees issued through Office Memorandum dated 14-07-1995 whereby the Dearness Allowance as linked to the average All India Consumer Index (AICP) 1201.66 reached on 01-07- 1993 shall be treated as dearness pay for reckoning emoluments for the purpose of calculation of death-cum-retirement gratuity under the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 and the said benefit is also made available to the petitioner though he retired before the cut off date. 2. The Tribunal by the impugned order dated 17-02-2000 held that it cannot give any direction to the respondents for fixing any other date retrospectively for the purpose of conferring the benefit. Questioning the correctness of the same the present writ petition is filed. 3. The Supreme Court in STATE OF PUNJAB v. AMAR NATH GOYAL[1] upheld the cut off date holding that the cut-off date has been fixed as 1-4-1995 on a very valid ground, namely, that of financial constraints and rejected the contention that fixing of the cut-off date was arbitrary, irrational or had no rational basis; and set aside the judgments of the various Central Administrative Tribunals and High Courts allowing the claim of the employees who retired prior to the cut off date for the purpose of calculating death-cum-retirement gratuity. 4. In view of the same, the present writ petition filed by the petitioner deserves to be dismissed and it is accordingly dismissed. No costs. _________________ A.GOPAL REDDY, J. _______________ G.CHANDRAIAH,J. 16-11-2009 Murthy [1] (2005)6 SCC 754