TAPEN SEN,J. - (1.) THE Petitioner No. 1 is a Society registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961 and it represents the cause of the employees appointed in the High Court at Calcutta (hereinafter referred to as the Calcutta High Court). The Petitioner Nos. 2 and 3 are employees of the Calcutta High Court and the Petitioner No. 2 is the Joint Secretary of the Association. The facts of the case, as pleaded, are as follows: Facts 1. The Calcutta High Court Service (Conditions of Service and Recruitment) Rules, 1960 were framed under Article 229 of the Constitution of India classifying the service into separate categories such as Class I, Class II, Class Ill and Class IV. Rule 23 of the said rules lays down that the provisions of the West Bengal Service Rules insofar as they relate to salaries, leave and allowances shall, subject to the exceptions provided therein, apply to the said classes of employees of the Calcutta High Court as they apply to Government Servants/Employees of Corresponding classes in the service of the Government of West Bengal. The proviso appended thereto lays down that the powers exercisable by the Government of the State under the West Bengal Service Rules, shall be exercised by the Chief Justice and the powers exercisable by any authority subordinate to the Government, shall be exercised by the Chief Justice or by such person or persons as he may, by general or special Order, direct.
(2.) THE employees of the Calcutta High Court were earlier brought under the purview of the Pay Commissions of the State Government and in respect of the first three State Pay Commissions, the pay and allowances and other benefits which were given to the State Government employees, were adopted by the said Court in respect of the different classes of employees referred to above. By a resolution of the Department of Finance (Audit) No. 11832 F dated 27.12.1995, the employees of the Calcutta High Court were brought under the sweep of the 4th State Pay Commission but the Hon'ble Chief Justice did not accept the recommendations of the said Pay Commission.
(3.) IN 1996, the Chief Justice framed a "Special Pay Commission" for the employees of the Calcutta High Court for purposes of deciding the pattern of the pay scale of the employees. A report was submitted before the Chief Justice and it was placed in Full Court and it was also transmitted to the Government of West Bengal for implementation.;