In Brief
University teachers in Kerala sought to enforce the UGC Regulations' provision raising superannuation age from 60/56 to 65 years after the State adopted the Regulations' enhanced pay scales. The Court held that although States may voluntarily adopt UGC Regulations, they are not bound to do so. Critically, the age of superannuation for State employees is governed solely by rules under Article 309 of the Constitution and cannot be overridden by UGC Regulations. The Central Government had explicitly withdrawn the superannuation linkage condition in 2012, recognizing this as a matter of State policy discretion. The Court upheld Kerala's partial adoption (accepting pay scales but retaining its own superannuation ages) as lawful, declining to interfere with concurrent High Court findings.
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