- (1.) Allahabad Chhetriya Gramin Bank, 8, Parma Lal Road, Allahabad (in short the 'Bank') has been established on being sponsored by the Bank of Baroda under Section 3 of the Regional Rural Banks Act 1976 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act') which has been enacted by Parliament to provide for the incorporation, regulation and winding up of Regional Rural Banks with a view of developing the rural economy by providing for the purpose of development of agriculture, trade, commerce, industries and other productive activities in the rural areas, credit and other facilities particularly to the small and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers, artisans and small entrepreneurs and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.
(2.) The petitioners who are working in the Bank as officers/Branch Managers have filed this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, challenging the legality and validity of recruitment by promotion of the respondents 4 to 8 to the posts of area/Senior Manager made vide order dated 11.7.88 as a result of the promotion exercise/interview held on 30.5.1988. The petitioners too, being eligible for promotion, were considered alongwith other eligible candidates including the successful ones, but they failed to get promotion and aggrieved, have now come up to this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
(3.) Sri Rakesh Dwivedi, learned Counsel appearing for the petitioners urged that the respondent. Bank was bound to follow seniority-cum-merit criterion for promotion to the posts in question and since, urged the learned Counsel, the said criterion was given adieu, the entire exercise for promotion stands vitiated. The learned counsel based his submission upon circulars dated 31.12.1984, 1.12.1987 and 10.2.1988 issued by National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (in short the 'N.A.B.A.R.D.') established under Section 3 of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act, 1981 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Act of 1981) and the Bank's own decision arrived at in the Board of Directors meeting held on 29.4.1988 (Annexure 3 to the Bank's counter affidavit).;