A. Banerji, J. - (1.) These writ petitions have been filed by various employees of Indian Audit and Accounts Department working in the office of the Accountant General, U.P., Allahabad. They are aggrieved by the order passed by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India restructuring the cadres of the employees of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department into the cadres viz., (1) Accounts and Entitlement Office (A & EO) and (2) Audit Office (AC). The order and the scheme of restructuring of the cadres in Indian Audit and Accounts Department, hereinafter referred to as 'IAAD', are contained in a booklet titled 'Manual' of Instructions for restructuring of cadres in 'IAAD', hereinafter referred to as the 'Manual'. The date of the issue of the impugned order of the C & AG is the 19th Dec. 1963. The scheme outlines various changes in the service conditions of the employees of the IAAD.
(2.) The Accountant General, U.P. issued a circular dated 20th December 1963, which was circulated to all the employees of the IAAD. This notice required the employees to indicate their choice for allocation to one of the two offices mentioned above by 31st Jan. 1984. The petitioners by these writ petitions have challenged the authority of the C & AG in issuing the above order contained in the Manual and have also challenged the circular issued by the Accountant General, U.P. mentioned above.
(3.) Civil Miscellaneous Writ Petition No. 2981 of 1981 has been treated as the leading case. This petition has been filed by 365 petitioners on the 1st Mar. 1984, out of these petitioners, petitioners 1 to 244 are Auditors, petitioners Nos. 245 to 270 are selection grade auditors, petitioners Nos. 271 to 308 are Clerks; petitioners Nos. 309 to 341 are group D employees; petitioners Nos. 342 to 344 are Stenographers and petitioners Nos. 345 to 365 are Section Officers in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department under the Accountant General. The petitioners recounted that the Indian Audit and Accounts Department (TAAD') is an old and established Department of the Government charged with the maintenance and auditing of accounts of Union Government. Reference was made to the provisions of Article 148 of the Constitution of India where new status had been given to the C & AG and its role as the Auditor of Government accounts both for the Union and for the States. Reference was also made to the various efforts made by the employees of the IAAD to secure for themselves better emoluments and service conditions. In 1983 the C & AG came out with a scheme for restructuring of the cadres in IAAD. The Scheme was contained in the Manual referred to earlier. A notice has been issued from the office of the Accountant General I, Uttar Pradesh, Allahabad, dated 20th December 1983 which had been circulated to all the employees of the IAAD. This notice required the employees to indicate their choice for allocation either to Audit Office or to the Accounts and Entitlement Office, U.P. Allahabad. The notice also indicated that the employees should indicate their preference by 31st Jan. 1984. Reference was made to various provisions of the Manual to indicate which specific section of the office could go to the Audit Office or to the Accounts and Entitlement Office. New designations of Junior Auditor and Assistant Audit Officer were introduced in Group C staff which included Clerks/Typists/Auditor, Selection Grade Section Officer. Quotas by percentage were also indicated in the Audit Office for Junior Auditors and Auditors and also for Section Officers and Selection Grade Section Officers. The petitioners, (except Mr. D. B. Kauser) indicated their preference. There was a Screening Committee which sifted the names and ultimately announced a list of employees, who were to be taken in the Audit Office and those who were to be taken in the Accounts and Entitlement Office. After the announcement of the list a date was fixed for the enforcement of the scheme contained in the Manual. It was at this stage that the petitioners.filed the writ petition on the 1st Mar. 1984, with the prayer for a writ of mandamus, directing the respondents not to give effect to the Manual of Instructions for Restructuring of cadres in IAAD; directing the respondents to grant the revised pay-scale of Rs. 425-800 to all the Auditors as well as Selection Grade Officers and further directing the respondents not to bifurcate the office of the Accountant General, U.P. into the separate offices viz. Audit Office and Accounts & Entitlement Office. A prayer was also made for issue of a writ of certiorari quashing the scheme of bifurcation. Lastly, a prayer was made for issue of a writ in the nature of certiorari quashing the Circular dated 20th December 1982 issued by the Accountant General.;