Arun Madan, J. - (1.) The petitioner who is an employee of the Rajasthan State Ware Housing Corporation (a Government of Rajasthan undertaking) (hereinafter to be referred as "the Corporation"), has filed this writ petition on the grounds inter-afia that the Corporation is a statutory body wholly controlled and managed by the State of Rajasthan and hence amenable to the writ Jurisdiction of this court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 42 of the Warehousing Corporation Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962) for short "Act of 1962" and with the previous sanction of the State Government, derived from the Central Act, the Corporation has enacted Regulations of L974 for governing service conditions of its staff hereinafter referred to as "the Regulations" which came into force w.e.f. 20.1.1995 i.e. the day of their publication in the Gazette Extra Ordinary.
(2.) The petitioner by way of this writ petition has challenged the impugned action of the respondents in introducing the impugned amendment of the recruitment schedule appended to the staff Regulations which was notified by the Managing Director of the Corporation (respondent No. 2) vide office-order dated 14.9.1992 on the grounds inter-alia that in absence of the prior approval of the State Government by the Board of Directors, they were not justified in carrying out retrospective amendment of the said Regulations and which is absolutely illegal and grossly violative of the relevant provisions of the Regulations and hence non-est. The petitioner has further assailed the impugned action of the respondents in having denied to the petitioner the benefit of annual grade increments in pursuance of the above referred amendment to the recruitment schedule on the ground that at the time of the promotion of the petitioner to the post of stenographer from the post of steno-typist, no minimum experience as steno-typist was specified in the Regulations and the petitioner was accorded the benefit of pay-fixation under Rule 26-A of the R.S.R. and the date of Annual Grade Increment was also notified under office-order dated 16.1.1991. It has been contended in this regard that certain rights having been accrued and got vested with the petitioner for the benefit of promotion way back in July, 1990, cannot be taken away as a result of subsequent amendment in the Regulations and that too retrospectively. The petitioner has further assailed the authority of the Corporation to amend the Staff Regulations retrospectively. It has further been contended in this regard that under sub-clause (q) of Regulation-2 of the Regulations, 'Schedule' has been defined to mean the Schedule attached to these Regulations and thus the Schedule is part and parcel of the, Regulations. Regulation 37 of the Regulations provides as under "37. Amendments:- Amendments to the appendix and/or Schedules forming part of these rules may be made by the Board. Amendments to the Regulations may be made by the Board with prior approval of the government."
(3.) It will be apparent from the above that the respondent-Board has got the statutory power vested to it by virtue of the aforesaid Regulations to carry out amendments to the appendix or schedule forming part of the rules which may be framed by the Board with prior approval of the state Government and such amendments may be carried out from time to time by the Board as may be necessary and expedient to carry out necessary functions of the Corporation.;