- (1.) We have heard Sri V.K. Singh, Senior Advocate, assisted by Sri Anil Kumar for the petitioners in both the writ petitions. Sri Ashok Khare, Senior Advocate, assisted by Sri Aditya Kumar Singh appears for the Purvanchal Gramin Bank, Mohaddipur, District Gorakhpur. On 29.11.2010, notices were issued to private respondents. The office has sent the notices by registered post. The Office reports that neither acknowledgement, nor undelivered cover has been received back in the office upto 7.1.2011. Under the Rules of the Court, the notices shall be deemed to be served on the private respondents.
(2.) The four petitioners in Writ Petition No. 68394 of 2010, and the sole petitioner in Writ Petition No. 3536 of 2011, were initially appointed as Clerk-cum-Cashier in the Bank. At present, they are working as Office Assistants in various branches of the Bank at Gorakhpur. They filed the writ petitions with prayers to quash the order dated 12.10.2010, issued by the Board of Directors of the Bank, promoting the Office Assistants, who are junior to the petitioners, on the post of Junior Management Grade-I, ignoring the criteria of 'seniority-cum-merit' under the Regional Rural Banks (Appointment and Promotion of Officers and Other Employees) Rules 1998.
(3.) The Purvanchal Gramin Bank is one of the Regional Rural Banks constituted under Section 3 of the Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976. The bank is sponsored by the State Bank of India, with its headquarters situated at Gorakhpur. The services of the employees of the bank for appointment and promotion are regulated by Regional Rural Banks (Appointment and Promotion of Officers and other Employees) Rules, 1998 (In short the Rules of 1998), notified on 29.7.1998. By a Circular No.21 dated 1.5.2010, the General Manager of the bank issued a notice for promotion of employees serving in the Clerical Grade (Office Assistant), to the post of Officer Scale-I, to fill up 74 vacancies from the clerical grade under the Rules of 1998, on the criteria of 'seniority-cum-merit'. The selections were to be made by holding a written test of a total of 70 marks, followed by interview of a total of 20 marks and appraisal of work of a total of 10 marks by a Selection Committee consisting of Chairman of the Bank, a Director nominated by the Bank, and a Director nominated by a Nationalised Bank.;