Sandeep Mehta, J. - (1.) THESE five writ petitions involve common questions of facts and law and are thus being decided by this common judgment.
(2.) THE petitioners are all Development Officers (Marketing) working in the respondent insurance companies. Their service conditions are governed by the General Insurance (Rationalisation of Pay Scales and Other Conditions of Service of Development Staff) Scheme, 1976 (hereinafter referred to as 'Scheme of 1976') framed by the Central Government in exercise of powers conferred upon it under Section 17A of the General Insurance (Nationalisation) Act, 1972. The Scheme of 1976 was amended by the Central Government in the year 2003 and a notification to this effect was published in the Gazette of India on 2.1.2003 and the amendment was notified from the said date. The Development Officer Marketing governed by cost norms has to perform within stipulated cost ratio which is defined in Clause 3(8) of the Scheme of 1976. As per the pre amended scheme he gets the benefit of two tier cost system i.e. (i) for the purpose of increment & (ii) for the purpose of incentives. Now by the 2003 amendment, single cost system has been introduced, whereby the cost system for the purposes has been withdrawn by deleting the proviso to Clause 7.
(3.) "Cost ratio" is the ratio expressed as percentage of cost incurred on a person of the development staff to the scheduled premium income procured through him during the concerned year.;