V.N.Khare, C.J. - (1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment of a. learned single judge of this court dated April 19, 1994. By the said judgment, the learned judge relying upon a decision of this court in the case of Indian Bank Officers' Association v. Indian Bank [1994] 209 ITR 72, disposed of the writ petition filed by the writ petitioner and the rule was made absolute in terms of prayers (a) and (b) of the writ petition.
(2.) The writ petitioner-respondent No. 1 is an association of officers of the Vijaya Bank--a Government of India undertaking. It was alleged that the writ application was filed by respondent No. 1 for and on behalf of and representing the association of officers of the respondent-bank. The respondent-bank is a nationalised bank and is governed by the provisions of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, and in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 19 read with subsection (2) of Section 12 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970, the board of directors of the Vijaya Bank in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India and with the previous sanction of the Central Government made a regulation known as Vijaya Bank (Officers) Service Regulations. Regulation 25 of the said Regulations provides that no officer shall be entitled as of right to be provided with residential accommodation by the bank ; it shall, however, be open to the bank to provide residential accommodation on payment by the officer of 6 per cent. of the pay in the first stage of the scale of pay in which he is placed or the standard rent for the accommodation, whichever is less.
(3.) Admittedly, the bank has provided residential accommodation to certain officers of the bank and is charging standard rent. Section 15 of the Income-tax Act provides for charging income-tax on the salaries of the employees. Section 17(1) of the said Act further provides that the salary includes perquisites. What is perquisite is defined in Clause (2) of Section 17 of the Income-tax Act which is as follows : " (2) 'perquisite' includes - (i) the value of rent-free accommodation provided to the assessee by his employer ; (ii) the value of any concession in the matter of rent respecting any accommodation provided to the assessee by his employer.";