DAVE L R Vs. GOVERNMENT OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONERS are clerks in the Agricultural Department of the State of Gujarat. In this petition, they challenge the orders, contained in three resolutions of the Government, dated 17 February 1958, 27 July 1959 and 20 July 1960. They pray that a writ of certiorari or a writ of mandamus be issued, quashing the above orders and that a direction be issued to the State that their posts should be equated to the posts of senior clerks in the same department with effect from 1 November 1956. Petition is directed against the State of Gujarat, which is respondent 3, and two Secretaries thereof, who are respondents 1 and

(2.) 2. In order to understand the controversy between the parties, it will be convenient first to mention a few admitted facts. Before 1 November 1956, petitioners were senior clerks in the Agricultural Department of the then State of Saurashtra. In that department, the clerks were divided into two categories called senior clerks and junior clerks. The pay-scale of a senior clerk was Rs. 75-3-105 E. B.-5-120. The pay-scale of a junior clerk was Rs. 40-3-70. Under the States Reorganization Act 37 of 1956 (here-after called the Act), a new State, among others, called the State of Bombay, came into existence, comprising of a number of territories including the territory of the former Saurashtra State. The territories of the new State also included some of the territories of the former Bombay State and the territories of a few other States. Under S. 115, Sub-section (1), of the Act, petitioners were allotted, by a fiction, to serve in connexion with the new Bombay State. Under S. 115, Sub-section (1), petitioners continued to hold the posts of senior clerks and, from 1 November, 1956, they were deemed to have been duly appointed to such posts. However, though this was so, the problem of integrating petitioners and all the servants of the former States, from out of which the new State of Bombay was created, arose for the consideration of the new Government. In order to solve this problem the Government first published, on 18 October, 1957, rules called the Allocated Government Servants (Absorption, Seniority, Pay and Allowances) Rules, 1957 (hereafter called the rules), which were framed under the powers vested in the new State under the Act read with Art. 309 of the Constitution. The steps which the new Government was required to take, in order to complete the process of integration were the equation of the old posts to new posts in the new Government, absorption of the allocated Government servants in the equivalent posts, and appointment of such servants to such posts. The new State retained the posts which were in existence in the old Bombay State. In the present petition, we are concerned with the post of senior clerks and clerks simpliciter. The pay-scale of a senior clerk, in the new State was Rs. 100-8-140 and that of a mere clerk was Rs. 46-3-85-E. B.-4-125-5 130. Therefore, the first problem which the new Government was to solve vis-a-vis petitioners, was to equate the posts of senior clerks and junior clerks in the former Saurashtra State with the posts of senior clerks and mere clerks in the new Bombay State. On 11 December 1957, the new Government of Bombay issued a circular in which they laid down the principles which were to be borne in mind in determining the equation of posts, and the principles which they laid down were four in number and they were as follows :

(3.) SOME of the petitioners were dissatisfied even with this latest order and they made a further representation on 3 July 1961 to which, according to petitioners, they did not receive any reply up to the date of the petition. It is, thereafter, that petitioners presented the present petition.