A.B.GORTHI, J. - (1.) In all these four cases the facts involved and the questions of law raised being identical, we heard them analogously and are disposing them of by means of this common order.
(2.) The applicants, who joined the Department of Telecommunications as Telephone Operators, were promoted after due selection as Observation Supervisors on 15.2.84. The revised scale of pay of Telephone Operators is Rs. 975 -1600/ - whereas that of the Observation Supervisors Rs. 1400 -2300/ -. When the applicants had worked uninterruptedly as Observation Supervisors for almost three years, they were confronted with a decision of the Department abolishing the cadre of Observation Supervisors. As per the said decision, all the posts of Observation Supervisors would be treated as tenure posts and filled up by eligible candidates from LSG cadres, like Telephone Supervisors who were in the revised pay scale of Rs. 1400 -2300/ -. The existing officials in the cadre of observation Supervisors would be merged with the group of Telephone Supervisors but their seniority would be fixed as per their gradation in the list of Telephone Operators. Their pay would, however, be protected. An option was given to the affected employees. Those who did not opt were to continue as a separate group but would be required to perform supervisory or operative duties as required by administrative exigencies. Aggrieved by this decision of the Department, which is contained in the Deptt, of Telecommunication Letter No. 5 -44/84 -NCG dated 4.3.87 (Annexure -B to the application), the applicants have sought reliefs in the following terms : (a) To order for continuing the applicants in the post of Observation Supervisors; (b) To restrain the respondents from transferring the applicants to the cadre of Telephone Operators and fixing up their seniority according to the gradation list of 1982; (c) To restrain the respondents from changing the nature of work from supervisory to any other manual work; (d) To restrain the respondents from withholding chances of further promotion to the applicants; and (e) To quash the impugned annexures.
(3.) The applicants represented against the policy to abolish their cadre but without any success. They were to exercise their option for merger into the mainstream of Telephone Supervisors by 15.4.87 but they did not do so. On the other hand they approached the Tribunal and were given an interim order of status -quo. They are, thus, still continuing as Observation Supervisors only.;