Venkataramiah, J. - (1.) The petitioners in these writ petitions filed under Art. 32 of the Constitution of India have prayed for a declaration that R. 3 of the Rules for Age of Retirement contained in Annexure I to the Central Bank of India (Officers') Service Regulations, 1979 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Regulations') framed under Regn. 19(1) of the Regulations is unconstitutional and void, and to direct the Central Bank of India (hereinafter referred to as 'the Bank) to fix the age of retirement of all the officers of the Bank uniformly at 60 years. They have further prayed for the quashing of the Order dated 25-2-1980 issued by the Chief Manager of the Bank at its Regional Office, New Delhi retiring petitioner No. 1, B. S. Yadav from service as being illegal and unconstitutional and for a declaration that petitioner No. 1, B. S. Yadav continues or shall be deemed to be in the service of the Bank till he attains the age of 60 years with consequential benefits. The petitions are filed by B. S. Yadav, who was working as an officer of the Bank and the All India Central Bank Employees' Federation.
(2.) The Bank came to be established under the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') under which the banking business of 14 banking companies was nationalised. At the commencement the process of nationalisation of these banks was not smooth-sailing. On the Government of India taking a decision to nationalise the banking business of 14 banking companies the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Ordinance 8 of 1969 was promulgated by the President on July 19, 1969. The Ordinance provided for the acquisition and transfer of the undertakings of certain banking companies which were 14 in number in order to serve better the needs of development of the economy in conformity with the national policy and objectives and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Under the Ordinance 14 'corresponding new banks' were established. The Bank which is involved in these cases is the corresponding new bank of the Central Bank of India Ltd. which was one of the banking companies whose undertaking was taken over under the Ordinance. The corresponding new banks were authorised to carry on and transact the business of banking as defined in Cl. (b) of S. 5 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and also to engage in one or more forms of business specified in sub-s. (1) of S. 6 of the Act. The Chairman of the banking company whose business was taken over holding office immediately before the commencement of the Ordinance was appointed as the custodian of the corresponding new bank. The general superintendence, direction and management of the affairs and business of the corresponding new bank was vested in the custodian who was to be the Chief Executive Officer of that bank. The above Ordinance was replaced by the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 22 of 1969. The constitutional validity of both the Ordinance and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act 22 of 1969 was questioned before this Court. in Rustom Cavasjee Cooper v. Union of India, (1970) 3 SCR 530. By the decision rendered in the said case this Court declared the Ordinance and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act 22 of 1969 as invalid and the action taken or deemed to have been taken in exercise of the powers under them was unauthorised. The above judgment of the Court was pronounced on February 10, 1970. The effect of the judgment was that the undertakings of the 14 banking companies, whose business had been acquired by the Central Government under the authority of the above said Ordinance and the Act, reverted to the banking companies. With a view to resuming control over the business of those banking companies, the President again promulgated on February 14, 1970 the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Ordinance, 1970. The provisions of the earlier Act which were struck down by this Court had been duly modified by promulgating the said Ordinance. The said Ordinance provided for the acquisition and transfer of the banking business of the said banking companies with effect from July 19. 1969, i.e., the date on which those undertakings were initially acquired by the Central Government. This Ordinance was replaced by the Act within a short period which was deemed to have come into force from July 19, 1969. By S. 3 of the Act 14 corresponding new banks which were mentioned in the First Schedule to the Act came to be established. The paid-up capital of every new bank constituted under S. 3 of the Act was until any provision was made in that behalf in any scheme made under S. 9 of the Act, to be equal to the paid-up capital of the existing bank in relation to which it was the corresponding, new bank. The existing banks were the banking companies mentioned in the Second Schedule to the Act whose banking business had been earlier taken over on July 19, 1969. The entire capital of each corresponding new bank was vested in and allotted to the Central Government. Every corresponding new bank was treated as a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal with power, subject to the provisions of the Act, to acquire, hold and dispose of property, and to contract and to sue and be sued in its own name. Under the Act the Bank became the corresponding new bank in respect of the Central Bank of India Ltd. Among other provisions, the Act provided for the appointment of officers and employees of the corresponding new bank. Section 12 of the Act reads thus: "12. Removal of Chairman from office - (1) Every person holding office, immediately before the commencement of this Act, as Chairman of an existing bank shall, if he becomes Custodian of the corresponding new bank, be deemed, on such commencement, to have vacated office as such Chairman. (2) Save as otherwise provided in subsection (1), every officer or other employee of an existing bank shall become, on the commencement of this Act, an officer or other employee, as the case may be, of the corresponding new bank and shall hold his office or service in that bank on the same terms and conditions and with the same rights to pension, gratuity and other matters as would have been admissible to him if the undertaking of the existing bank had not been transferred to and vested in the corresponding new bank and continue to do so unless and until his employment in the corresponding new bank is terminated or until his remuneration, terms or conditions are duly altered by the corresponding new bank. (3) For the persons who immediately before the commencement of this Act were the trustees for any pension, provident, gratuity or other like fund constituted for the officers or other employees of an existing bank, there shall be substituted as trustees such persons as the Central Government may, by general or special order, specify. (4) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, or in any other law for the time being in force, the transfer of the services of any officer or other employee from an existing bank to a corresponding new bank shall not entitle such officer or other employee to any compensation under this Act or any other law for the time being in force and no such claim shall be entertained by any court. tribunal or other authority."
(3.) Sub-section (2) of section 12, in particular, provided for the transfer of the services of all officers and other employees of an existing bank from the existing bank to the corresponding new bank on the same terms and conditions and with the same rights to pension, gratuity etc. and it stated that any officer or employee of the existing bank whose services were so transferred was to continue to be in the employment of the corresponding new bank until his employment in the corresponding bank was terminated or until his remuneration, terms or conditions were duly altered by the corresponding new bank. Section 19 of the Act conferred power on the Board of Directors of a corresponding new bank to frame regulaitions after consultation with the Reserve Bank of India and with the previous sanction of the Central Government for all matters for which provision was expedient for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of the Act. Clause (d) of section 19(2) of the Act specifically conferred powers on the Board of Directors to make regulations with regard to the conditions or limitations subject to which the corresponding new bank might appoint advisers, officers or other employees and fix their remuneration and other terms and conditions of service. After the Bank came to be established there were two classes of officers and employees working in it, namely, officers and employees who had become officers and employees of the Bank under sub-section (2) of section 12 of the Act and the officers and employees of the Bank appointed after July 19, 1969.;