P. Venkatarama Reddi, J. - (1.) Respondents 1 and 2 namely Secretariat Press Ministerial Staff Union and Government Stationery Stores Staff Union filed a Writ Petition with a prayer to issue a writ of Mandamus directing the Bihar State Government and other appellants herein to treat the ministerial staff of the Government Secretariat Press, Gulzarbagh, Patna and the Government Stationery Stores and Publication Press, Gulzarbagh, Patna as employees of the offices attached to the Secretariat and accordingly extend the benefits admissible in law to the employees of the offices attached to the Secretariat, including grant of replacement scale of pay on par with the scale of pay of the attached office employees.
(2.) Respondents 3 to 12 herein who, it appears are employees working in the Press, subsequently were impleaded as parties in the writ petition. The High Court formulated the question for consideration as follows: "Whether the ministerial and menial staff employed in these two organisations, which are directly under the control of the Department of Finance, are employed in the attached offices of the Bihar Secretariat."
(3.) At the outset, we may mention that the dispute in the Writ Petition is specifically confined to ministerial staff of the Press; but not other categories, such as "menial staff". The High Court following the judgment of the Division Bench of the same Court rendered in CWJC 1315 of 1981 as long back as 14-12-1982 answered that question in affirmative and allowed the writ petition. The High Court observed that "the Judgment has attained finality and for so many years the concerned Assistants have been treated as employed in the attached offices of the Secretariat. The case of the petitioners stand on identical footing". Having observed thus, the direction was issued to treat the members of the petitioners-Unions as employees of the offices attached to the Secretariat and to grant them all consequential benefits for which they are eligible in accordance with the rules from the date of filing of the writ petition. Aggrieved by this judgment, the present appeal has been preferred by the State of Bihar and other official-respondents in the writ petition.;