Sinha, J. - (1.) The petitioner, Sm. Anima Munshi was a telephone operator in the telephone system which operates in the city of Calcutta. Prior to the Government taking over the running of telephones in the city, it was being run by the Bengal Telephone Corporation Limited, a public limited company. In 1941, a company named Government Telephones Board Limited was formed by the Government of India to acquire the share capital of telephone companies operating all over India, including the Bengal Telephone Corporation Limited (hereinafter referred to as the Corporation) which operated in Calcutta. At first, the Government acquired a majority of the shares but allowed the company to function as before. Sometime in March 1943, the Government of India passed orders, regarding the future organisation of the system of telephones all over India. We are concerned only with what happened in Calcutta. Upon the expiry of the license of the Corporation on 1-4-1943, it was to be taken over by Government and placed under the administrative control of the Director General of Posts and Telegraphs. The staff of the company was to be taken over on the existing terms and conditions of service with the exception of those who had attained the age of 55 years. Staff employed after 1-4-1943 was to be recruited on the terms and conditions applicable to Government servants of corresponding and comparable grades but in the case of female operators of the Calcutta Telephone District, they were to be recruited on the same terms as the Corporation. In the days of the Corporation, female operators were recruited upon a formal contract and the Posts and Telegraphs department adopted the same form of contract with minor alterations.
(2.) On or about 1-4-1943, the telephone system belonging to the Bengal Telephone Corporation Ltd. was completely taken over by the Government of India.
(3.) On or about 5-7-1945, the petitioner received a letter from the General Manager on the following terms; "This department offers you employment as a telephone operator on probation, during which time you will be required to attend the telephone school, Burrabazar Exchange, for three hours daily on a salary of Rs. 40/- per mensem. Provided your period of probation is satisfactory, you will, when a vacancy occurs, be appointed as a temporary operator on a salary of Rs. 70/- per mensem. Later, and on confirmation of your appointment, you will be placed in the scale of Rs. 70--10--140.";