VIJAYAWADA: The High Court has clarified that it cannot issue any directions regarding the increase of retirement age in government undertakings, societies, and corporations, stating that the matter falls purely under government policy on Friday.
The division bench comprising Justice Battu Devanand and Justice Avadhanam Hariharanath Sharma further made it clear that retirement age is part of service rules and any change can only be implemented if the government amends those rules. The court also observed that until service rules are amended, existing rules will continue to remain in force.
It also stated that merely constituting a committee of ministers to examine the issue does not entitle employees to seek court directions for increasing the retirement age.
The bench noted that even if governing boards of various corporations pass resolutions seeking an increase in retirement age, such resolutions must be approved by the government to become effective. Upholding the earlier order of a single judge, the High Court dismissed petitions seeking directions to increase the retirement age from 60 to 62 years. The bench stated that there were no errors in the single judge’s order and found no reason to interfere with it.
The petitions were filed separately by AP Cooperative Oil Growers Federation employee V Wilson Raju, State Warehousing Corporation employee D Madhava Rao, and others, seeking directions to increase the retirement age to 62 years. The petitioners informed the court that despite governing boards of their corporations passing resolutions to increase the retirement age, the government had not acted on them.
They also pointed out that the State government had issued a Government Order on August 22 last year constituting a committee of ministers to examine the issue of increasing the retirement age to 62 years for employees working in government undertakings, societies, corporations, and institutions listed under Schedules 9 and 10 of the AP Reorganisation Act.
After hearing arguments, the single bench judge had ruled on November 18 last year that retirement age cannot be increased without amending service rules and dismissed the petitions.
Challenging that order, Wilson Raju and Madhava Rao filed separate appeals before the division bench. The bench noted that the petitioners were not State government employees and were governed by service rules. The court reiterated that without government approval and amendment of service rules, increasing the retirement age is not possible, and therefore no directions can be issued in this regard. It affirmed that the single judge’s order was legally sound.