Ashim Kumar Banerjee, J. - (1.) The first batch of the petitioners are the confirmed Scale-II officers of Sagar Gramin Bank whereas the second batch petitioners are enjoying promotional post of Scale - II officers subject to the result of an appeal pending between both the said groups.
(2.) Sagar Gramin Bank is a rural bank set up in the district of North 24- Parganas. There are about 115 branches throughout the district. The said bank is having control of the United Bank of India as its sponsored bank. Initially there had been several anomalies with regard to the pay fixation of the bank employees. In terms of an order of the Apex Court, National Industrial Tribunal was set up by the Central Government for the said purpose. The said Tribunal published an award fixing the pay of the employees of the bank at par with the State Government Employees for a particular period and for the subsequent period thereafter at par with the employees of this sponsored banks. An equation committee had been set up for the purpose of dealing with each and every cases for equating with the sponsored bank employees commensurate with the work done by the employees of the bank. Accordingly, the employees of the concerned bank had been given respective designations as per the recommendation of the equation committee.
(3.) So far as the concerned bank was concerned, the branches were being headed by the various Branch Managers being Scale I officers. There were Area Managers/ Senior Managers being Scale II officers and the post of General Managers had been given to the Scale III officers. The equation committee at the time of submission of their report observed that there might be a need to review such recommendations in future at an appropriate time when the level of business and operations could grow substantially and there might be a number of branches to be manned by Scale II officers and correspondingly post of Area Managers and General Managers might have to be upgraded to Scale III and Scale IV respectively. This report was submitted by the equation committee as far back in 1991. The Central Government approved the recommendations of the equation committee by its letter dated 22nd February, 1991.;