- (1.) APPELLANT Bepin Behari Das was an employee in the Life Insurance Section of the New Asiatic Insurance Co. Ltd. In 1953 he became the Superintendent of Agencies in the Calcutta branch of the insurance company on a salary of Rs. 250/- and a conveyance allowance of Rs. 50/- per month. He continued to serve the insurance company in that capacity until the nationalisation of life insurance business took place. The history of this nationalization is set out in the judgment of Gajendragadkar, J. as he then was in S. C. A. Nos. 909 of 1963 (Life Insurance Corporation of India v. Sunil Kumar Mukherjee and others) (1) decided on November 22, 1963. At first by Ordinance No. 1 of 1956 the Central Government took over the management of the life insurance business of the insurance companies. This Ordinance came into effect on January 19, 1956 and was replaced on March 21, 1956 by Act IX of 1956. Soon thereafter by Act XXXI of 1956 the ownership of the "controlled business" i. e. , of the life insurance business of the insurance companies was vested in a corporation known as the Life Insurance Corporation of India which was specially created for that purpose. Act No. XXXI of 1956 was passed on June 18, 1956 and came into force on the appointed day i. e. , on September 1, 1956. The Act was amended from time to time. The appellant complains that in the new set up, his conditions of service were altered to his detriment and he was not given a proper assignment according to law.
(2.) HE challenges the validity of the order dated November 21, 1956 (Annexure D to the petition) whereby he was asked to work as inspector, the order dated September 11, 1957 (Annexure E to the petition) directing him to operate as an inspector of agencies under City unit No. 10 at Calcutta, "the categorization or fitting in of the existing salaried Field Workers" published on september 30, 1957 and the revised version thereof published on December 2, 1957 (Annexures F and G to the petition), "the Life Insurance Corporation Field Officers (Alteration of Remuneration and other Terms and Conditions of Service.) Order, 1957" (Annexure H to the petition) and "the Life Insurance Corporation of India (Fixation of Pay and Allowances of Field Officers Regulation, 1958)" (Annexure I to the petition), Banerjee, J. found that the validity of the orders contained in Annexures D. E. F. and G. to the petition need no longer be considered, because the appellant is now governed by the order and the Regulation contained in Annexures H and I to the petition. This finding is no longer challenged. Nor does the appellant impugn before us the validity of Annexure I to the petition. The attack of the appellant before us was solely directed towards the validity of the Life Insurance Corporation Field Officers (Alteration of Remuneration and other Terms and Conditions of Service)Order, 1957 being Annexure H to the petition.
(3.) THE object of this order was to secure uniformity in the scales of remuneration and the other terms and conditions of service applicable to certain classes of employees of insurers whose controlled business had vested in the corporation, and in the interest of the Corporation and its policy holders to secure a reduction in the remuneration payable and a revision of the other terms and conditions applicable to those classes of employees. The order applies to the employees falling within the class of "field Officer" as defined in paragraph 2 (c) of the order. Paragraph 2 (c)reads thus: ("c") "field Officer" means person whether designated by an insurer as Branch Manager, branch Secretary, Assistant Branch Manager, Assistant Branch Secretary, Zonal Agency Manager, Superintendent of Agencies, Divisional Superintendent, Organiser or by any other name, who before the 1st day of September, 1956, was wholly or mainly engaged in the development of new life insurance business for the insurer by supervising, Either directly or through one or more intermediaries, the work of persons procuring or soliciting new life insurance business, and who was remunerated by a regular monthly salary, and who has become an employee of the Corporation under section 11 of the Act, but does not include any person now in the employment of the Corporation as Assistant Branch Manager, Branch Manager or in any higher capacity. " In 1962 the designation "field Officer" was changed into "development Officer" but no consequential change was made in the title of the order. Though the appellant was designated as the superintendent of Agencies, Calcutta Branch while in the employ of New Asiatic Insurance Co. Ltd. , he was employed as an organising person of the company and was concerned, and connected with the production of the requisite insurance business and premium collection under his own organisation. Banerjee, J. has found that the nature of the appellant's work under he New Asiatic Insurance Co. Ltd. was primarily field work as stated in the affidavit-in-opposition. This finding is not challenged before us. The appellant was a person who though designated as Superintendent of Agencies was a person who before September 1, 1956 was mainly engaged in the development of new life insurance business for the insurer by supervising the work of persons procuring or soliciting new life insurance business and who was remunerated by a regular monthly salary. He was, therefore, a field officer within the meaning of paragraph 2 (c) of the 1957 order and came within the purview of the order.;