In Brief
Retired teachers and non-teaching staff from minority colleges in Bihar challenged a cut-off date (31 August 2010) in an amended Triple Benefit Scheme that denied benefits to those who retired before that date. They claimed the cut-off discriminated between similarly situated employees. The Supreme Court upheld the cut-off date, holding that the Government has discretion to impose reasonable cut-off dates when extending benefits to new classes of beneficiaries, particularly where there was no original obligation to do so. The Court found the date neither capricious nor arbitrary, as it was based on the Cabinet decision date, and dismissed the appeals.
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