RAILWAY BOARD Vs. P R SUBRAMANIYAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by special leave. The appellants are the Railway Board and some officers of the Southern Railway concerned with the passing of the impugned orders. Respondents 1 to 9 were clerks in the Southern Railway in Grade II. They were all promoted eventually to Accounts Clerks, Grade I. In the seniority list, however, respondents 3 to 9 were shown an senior to respondents 1 and 2. Hence the latter challenged the order Ext. P-4 dated the 6th of March, 1972 by filing a writ petition in the Kerala High Court. The petition was dismissed by a learned single Judge, but their appeal was allowed by the Division Bench. Hence the Railway administration has filed the present appeal. Mr. U. R. Lalit appeared for the appellants and Mr. S. Balakrishnan contested the appeal on behalf of respondent No. 1. No other respondent appeared.

(2.) For getting promotion from Grade II to Grade I, the respondents had to pass a departmental examination known as Appendix II-A Examination. In Grade II, respondent No. 1 having been appointed earlier was senior to respondents 2 to 9 and respondent 2 was junior to respondent 3 but senior to respondents 4 to 9. Respondents 3 to 5 had passed Appendix II-A examination before the 1st April, 1956. Respondent 6 passed it in April 1956. Respondents 2 and 7 to 9 passed the said examination in November 1956 and respondent 1 passed it lastly in May, 1957.

(3.) In the Indian Railway Establishment Code, Volume I are the Rules framed by the President of India under Art. 309 of the Constitution. Contained in the said Code is the well-known R. 157 which authorises the Railway Board, as permissible under Art. 309, to have "full powers to make rules of general application to non-gazetted railway servants under their control." The Railway Board have been framing rules in exercise of this power from time to time. No special procedure or method is prescribed for the making of such rules by the Railway Board. But they have been treated as rules having the force of rules framed under Art. 309 pursuant to the delegated power to the Railway Board if they are of general application to non-gazetted railway servants or to a class of them.