- (1.) THE order passed by the Chairman, Cadre Authority. Cooperative Banks Centralised Services terminating the appointment of the petitioner on the post of Joint Secretary of the Cadre Authority and reverting him to the post of Secretary, District Cooperative Bank, Ghazipur is subject matter of challenge in the instant writ petition.
(2.) THE plea on behalf of the petitioner is that he was holding the office of the General Manager and the impugned order amounted to reversion in violation of the provisions of law. The petitioner started his service career as Secretary in District Cooperative Bank, Jhansi with effect from 13th May, 1969. In the year 1976 the services of the Secretary, District Cooperative Bank were centralised under Section 122-A of the U. P. Cooperative Societies Act, 1965. The petitioner was first provisionally absorbed and thereafter he was finally (sic) selection grade. The petitioner was subsequently posted as Dy. Secretary, State Cadre Authority and worked as such from 1980 to 1984 and was transferred again as Secretary of the District Cooperative Bank. The State Cadre Authority, vide resolution 1 dated 6th November, 1984 created a post of Joint Secretary in the establishment of the Cadre Authority itself. The resolution provided that the appointment to the post of Joint Secretary will be made from the Class I officers of the State Government or equivalent officers of the District Cooperative Bank and U. P. Cooperative Bank. It has been stated that earlier a Government Officer Sri G. S. Misra was appointed on deputation but on representation made by the Association of the Officers of the Co-operative Banks, the said officer was reverted and the petitioner was appointed as Joint Secretary for which a resolution was passed. In pursuance of said resolution, appointment letter was also issued to the petitioner on 1-10-1985. An option was called from the petitioner upon which the petitioner made a representation to the effect that there was no occassion for deputation and the appointment ought to be treated as promotion. The petitioner demanded that he should be given the scale of General Manager of the U. P. Cooperative Bank. Instead of paying him deputation allowance decision was taken by the Cadre Authority to pay him special pay. By the impugned order the appointment of the petitioner on the post of Joint Secretary, Cadre Authority, has been terminated and he was reverted to the post of Secretary, District Cooperative Bank and by another order dated 8-11-1988 he was posted as Secretary-Cum-General Manager of the District Cooperative Bank, Ghazipur. According to the petitioner his appointing authority is the Administrative Committee constituted under the Centralised Services Rules and his appointment was a matter of transfer and he could not be said to be on deputation, and, as such, the reversion order is illegal.
(3.) IN the counter affidavit, which has been filed by the opposite parties No. 1 to 3, it has been stated that the Cadre Authority is constituted under Rule 4 (a) U. P. Cooperative Banks Centralised service Rules, 1976 and under Rule 7 of said Rules, powers of the Committee are enumerated. IN Rule 7 (a) it is provided that the Committee is the appointing authority in respect of the members of the Services, meaning thereby Secretary means Chief Executive Officer of the Bank by whatsoever name he may be called, and thus, it is the Committee which is the appointing authority in respect of members of the service. It has also been pointed out that the Committee has been given power to make regulations subject to the approval of the Registrar relating to the recruitment and conditions of service of the members. Under Rule 12 (vii) it is provided that a common cadre call' shall be created, in the Apex Bank, i.e. U. P. Cooperative Bank Ltd., in accordance with the directions of the Cadre Authority to deal with the day-to-day work connected with the service and implementation of these rules and all expenditure thereon shall be borne by the Apex Bank while Rule 13 provides that the committee of Management means Committee of Management, District Cooperative Bank Limited shall have no power to appoint any person on such posts as are included in the Services. It is further provided that where the Administrative Committee has posted a member of the Service on such post in a Bank, the Committee of Management of the Bank concerned shall exercise such control over the member as is specified in the regulation framed under Rule 7 (c). It has further been stated that there is no post of Deputy Secretary or Joint Secretary nor any rule provides or empowers the Committee to create such posts, but for the convenience and functioning of the common cadre cell, the persons who are posted, and have been given notional designation of Deputy Secretary and Joint Secretary. It has been stated that under the law the committee is not empowered to create such posts as this is a cadre of Centralised Services in which Secretary and Key personnel are covered. It has been stated that the petitioner was not appointed on the said post but was taken on deputation for which he was given Rs. 300/- as special allowance and no deputation allowance. The petitioner has completed more than three years on the said post. It has further been stated that the petitioner being member of centralised services is having his lien there and be being member of centralised service can be posted on the post of Joint Secretary with the prior approval of the Chairman as he can be transferred from one bank to another Bank subject to prior approval of the Chairman of the Committee. On behalf of the petitioner, in the rejoinder affidavit it has been stated that Rule 12 (vii) of the Rules provides for creation of a 'common cadre cell' in accordance with the directions of the Cadre Authority to deal with the day to day work connected with the service and implementation of these rules. It has also been stated that the common cadre cell has been created by the Cadre Authority in exercise of powers under Rule 12 (vii) and the posts for the common cadre cell have also been created by the Cadre Authority for which it is fully authorised, and such posts were earlier created by the Cadre Authority vide its resolution no. 6 dated 30-11-1979 and the creation of the posts was made in presence of Sri C. P. Shukla, who has filed the counter affidavit in his capacity as Secretary of the Cadre Authority and the plea that only notional designation is given to the post is not correct. All the posts including that of the Joint Secretary were duly created by the Cadre Authority and thereafter postings have also been made on these posts. It has been admitted that the expenditure is borne by the apex bank but it has been denied that the apex bank has any concern with the cell and it has been stated that the cell is run by the Cadre Authority. It has been stated that the Member Secretary alone Has no power to designate any person or to give notional designation under the Rules or the Regulations framed thereunder. It has been reiterated that the petitioner was appointed on a duly created post after his due selection by the Administrative Committee which is the appointing authority of the members of the Centralised Service. It has been stated that the post of Joint Secretary is superior to that of Deputy Secretary of the Cadre Authority or that of Secretaries/General Managers of Selection grade and, thereiore, a selection was made by the Administrative Committee tor appointment on the post of Joint Secretary and the petitioner was selected and posted on the said post. It has also been stated that the Registrar, who is Administrator of U. P. Cooperative Bank Limited and is also Chairman of the Cadre Authority has no jurisdiction to post or transfer any person in the common cadre cell.;