Chandrachud, J. - (1.) This is a group of five appeals, one from Maharashtra and four from Gujarat. They involve substantially identical questions and since the appeal from the judgment of the Bombay High Court was argued as the main appeal, we will refer to the facts of that appeal and indicate at appropriate places if there is any material difference between those facts and the facts leading to the Gujarat appeals. Civil Appeal No. 1113 of 1974 from Maharashtra is by certificate granted by the High Court of Bombay under Art. 133 (1) (a) and (b) of the Constitution. Civil Appeals Nos. 242 and 285-287 of 1974 from Gujarat are also by certificate granted by the Gujarat High Court under Article 133 (1) of the Constitution.
(2.) Special Civil Application No. 815 of 1972 which has given rise to Civil Appeal No. 1113 of 1974 was disposed of by a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court by its judgment dated 15th, 16th and 17th January, 1974. The four Gujarat appeals arise out of Special Civil Applications Nos. 1099 of 1969, 422 of 1970 and 1418 of 1971 which were disposed of by a Full Bench of the Gujarat High Court by its judgment dated July 14, 1973.
(3.) The complexity of the questions involved in these appeals has been expressed by the Bombay High Court by saying that the writ petitions before it involved "ticklish and complicated questions" and by the Gujarat High Court by saying that though it had on many occasions to consider complex problems pertaining to service laws, there was "no case comparable" to the writ petitions filed before it in the instant case. The learned Chief Justice (Bhagwati, J.) who delivered the judgment of the Full Bench observes that these questions of "unrivalled complexity" has caused considerable anxiety to the Court in reaching a satisfactory conclusion. We share this anxiety which is further heightened by the diametrically opposite and entirely inconsistent stands taken by the State governments from time to time. Evidently, the State Governments did not know their own mind and being unable to take up a firm and consistent stand, they defended the various writ petitions filed against them by their employees according to the mood of the passing moment. That must be deprecated.;