Bose, J. - (1.) This is an application under Article 226 of the Constitution for an appropriate writ directing the respondents to forbear from giving effect to an order, dated the 3rd of April, 1952, which cancelled the confirmation of the petitioners to certain posts in the East Indian Railway and reverted them to certain lower posts with effect from 1st of April, 1952.
(2.) In April, 1945, the petitioners who eight in number were recruited by the Bengal and Assam Railway Administration and were designated as "Special Clerks" on scale of pay of Rs. 100-10/2-120/-. After the said recruitment the petitioners were given training as Probationers in the Commercial and Transportation Branches of the said Railway for a full period of 2 years. Thereafter the petitioners were confirmed in that post with effect from 1st May, 1947. On the 5th May, 1947, a circular letter was issued under the signature of Chief Commercial Manager of the Bengal Assam Railway in which it was stated that these officers would on the completion of their training be utilised in Inspectorial and control work generally and regarding their absorption and promotion they would take their places with other staff in the categories of Inspectors and Controllers and in the normal course they would come below those who are selected and placed in the approved panel before them. By this letter all the "special clerks" except those who had not completed their training were confirmed in that post with effect from 1st May, 1947. In August, 1947, after the partition of India the petitioners were transferred to the East Indian Railway, after there was disintegration of the Bengal Assam Railway, on identical turns and conditions of service which governed them when they were in the B. A. Railway. Thereafter the East Indian Railway Administration commenced forming panels of Inspectors and Controllers but the petitioners were not included in such panels In November, 1947, the petitioners preferred an appeal to the Deputy General Manager (Personnel) through Divisional Superintendent, Sealdah, but the Superintendent without forwarding the said appeal turned it down on 20th November, 1947. But on being requested by the petitioners on the 29th November, 1947, to forward that appeal the appeal was forwarded on 15th December, 1947, but the Deputy General Manager on the 10th January, 1948, upheld the decision of the Divisional Superintendent. Subsequently, through the intervention of the Regional Labour Commissioner, the petitioners asked for a review of their cases. Thereafter further appeals were preferred and the Chief Commercial Manager considered the service conditions and the status of the "special clerks" and was of the view that the "special clerks" should be treated in the same way as the Traffic Apprentices on the East Indian Railway. It was pointed out in the Note of the C. C. M., that the "Special clerks" were not intended for clerical jobs. On 6th January, 1951, the Railway Administration appears to have passed an order by which the petitioners were provisionally permanently promoted as Claims Inspectors in Grade of Rs. 200-10-300 (P.C.), with effect from 10th January, 1951, and certain temporary posts of Claims Inspectors were assigned to them. It is stated in this order that as the petitioners had completed their training much earlier than the East Indian Railway Commercial Apprentices the Chief Commercial Manager had decided that the former should be placed on the seniority list above the latter. It further appears from an inter-departmental letter of the Railway, dated the 31st March, 1951, that the "special clerks" had been confirmed as Claims Inspectors in preference to all officiating Claims Inspectors in accordance with their terms and conditions under which they were directly recruited. On the 9th of April, 1951, there appears to have been another Office order under which the petitioners were placed on the Seniority list above the Commercial Apprentices irrespective of the fact that the former had been confirmed from later dates. It further appears from a letter, dated the 24th of April, 1951, written by Mr. Rangachari to the Superintendent (C. & R.), Benares D Cantt., that in accordance with the order of the Chief Commercial Manager, out of the total permanent posts of Claims Inspectors, 13 permanent posts had been made use of for the absorption of 5 East Indian Railway Commercial Apprentices and 8 ex-B. A. Railway "special clerks" by virtue of their service conditions. On the 3rd of April, 1952, upon an appeal preferred by the East Indian Railway officiating Claims Inspectors the then General Manager decided upon an interpretation of the circular letter, dated the 5th May, 1947, that for the purpose of absorption and promotion the petitioners on completion of their training had to take their places with other staff below those who had been selected and placed in the approved panels before they completed their training. Consequently, as the petitioners had completed their training in May, 1947, and the 1st panel for the post of Commercial Inspectors was formed in February, 1947, the petitioners must be placed after N. K. Roy, the last man of the February, 1947, panel formed on the ex-B. A. Railway. An order was therefore made reverting the petitioners to the posts of Assistant Claims Inspectors in Grade of Rs. 150-225 (P.C). with effect from 1st April, 1952, and eight officiating Claims Inspectors who were E.I. Railway men were provisionally confirmed in the posts of Claims Inspectors in Grade of Rs. 200-10-300 (P.C).
(3.) The petitioners have challenged this Order of reversion, dated the 3rd April, 1952, as arbitrary and as being made in contravention of Article 311(2) of the Constitution of India.;