“In my considered opinion, there is no infirmity or illegality or irregularity in the said decision taken by the Board. At this juncture, we have to take note of the fact that in the year 2007, the National Institute of Technology Act came into being, and thus, the NIT, Tiruchirappalli falls within the ambit of the said Act. In exercise of the powers conferred under the said Act, under Sub-Section 1 of Section 26, the Statute was issued by the Ministry of Human Resources Development. There could be no doubt that this Statute has got statutory force as it is a delegated legislation. It need not be over emphasised that when a particular field is occupied by a legislation, then, the executive power of the Government shall not be extended to issue any order in conflict with the said Statute. In other words, in respect of the field occupied by means of a legislative act, there could be no executive order in force which will run contrary to the statutory provisions. Applying this well settled Constitutional position, I have to hold that after the Statute had come into force, all the executive orders and instructions which were in place prior to coming into force of the said Statute shall cease to have any effect. Therefore, the argument of the learned Assistant Solicitor General of India that the CPF, which the petitioners have opted, will continue to have force, cannot be countenanced at all. As I have already pointed out, after coming into force of the Statute, the Provident Fund and Pension shall be governed only by the provisions of the Statute alone.
