- (1.) As common questions of law and facts do arise in all the aforesaid four writ petitions, they are disposed of together by one single judgment of mine.
(2.) It is not necessary for me to set out in detail the facts narrated in each writ petition, suffice it would be to state, in brief, the relevant facts of Writ Petition No. 509/83 filed by Prahlad Rai Khemka against the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur. The facts are as follows: The petitioner was appointed on the post of Clerk in the erstwhile Bank of Bikaner Ltd. on 20-9-1956 and got promotions from time to time. The Bank of Bikaner Ltd. was reconstituted as the State Bank of Bikaner and after some time was amalgamated in the State Bank of Jaipur and came to be known as State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur. On 1-2-1972 the petitioner was promoted as Officer Grade II in the said Bank and thereafter he again got promotion as Officer Grade Ion 1st March, 1977 after qualifying written test and getting through the interview. Thereafter the petitioner' became eligible for promotion to Officer Grade A on Ist March, 1982 because he had cleared both parts of C. A. I. I. B. examination, which was, considered to be equivalent to five years', experience of working as Officer Grade I. The petitioner gained experience of 7 years Line assignment also But the Central Government appointed a committee known as "Pillai Committee" to suggest reforms in the service conditions of the Bank employees and the Pillai Committee thereupon submitted a detailed report suggesting several reforms in the service conditions of the entire Bank Officers. This report was accepted by the Board of Directors of the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (hereinafter referred to as the "Bank") and on the basis of the Committee report the Bank framed certain regulations known as State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (Officers) Service Regulations, 1979 (hereinafter referred to as the ''Regulations of 1979''). In pursuance of these (Contd. on Col. 2) Regulations of 1979 the grades of the employees of the Bank were revised and new pattern of grades was brought into force with effect from 1st October, 1979. Regulation No. 4 of 1979 dealt with grades and scales of pay and is reproduced below : "Regulation 4 : Grades and scales of pay 4. (1). There shall be the following four grades for officers with the scales of pay specified against each of the grades: (A) Top Executive Grade (B) Senior Management Grade (C) Middle Management Grade (D) Junior Management Grade Scale VII Scale VI Scale V Scale IV Scale III Scale II Scale I Rs. 3000-125-3500 Rs. 2750-125-3250 Rs. 2500-100-2700 Rs. 2000-100-2400 Rs. 1800-75-2250 Rs. 1200-70-1550-75-2000 Rs. 700-40-900-50- 1100-EB-1200-60-1800. "(2) Nothing in sub-regulation (1) shall be construed as requiring the Bank to have at all times officers serving in all these grades. "(3) Unless otherwise directed by the Board or the Executive Committee, the pay of an Officer on his appointment to a grade or scale shall be the pay of that grade or sale. Provided that the officer shall enter that grade or scale either at the minimum or at a stage next above his pay in the previous grade or scale at the time of his appointment to the new grade or scale, whichever is higher." Regulation No. 6 (1) laid down that every post of an Officer in the Bank shall be categorised by the Central Board or the Executive Committee or the competent authority as falling in any one of the grades or scales mentioned in Regulation 4 having regard to the responsibilities and functions exercised and such categorisation may be reviewed from time to time by the aforesaid authorities mentioned above. A proviso, however, was appended to Regulation No. 6 (1), which gave a mandate that the categorisation of the post in existence on the appointed date i.e. 1st October, 1979 shall be done before the expiry of two years from that date and shall in respect of the posts in the senior management and top executive grades, be done by a committee appointed for the purpose by the Board or the Executive Committee.
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