S G JAISINGHAN Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The substantial point raised in these petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by S.G. Jaisinghanl (Civil Writ No. 189-D of 1962) and seventy-two other Petitioners Civil Writs Nos. 190-D of 1962, 248-D to 250-D of 1962, 638-D to 662-D of 1962, 686-D to 701-D of 1962, 770-D to 788-0 of 1962 and 244-D to 251-D or 1963), who are all officers of the Income Tax Branch of the, Indian Revenue Service the other two wings of the Service being the Indian Customs and Central Excise Services) concerns the validity of what for the sake of convenience may be called the 'quota and 'seniority' rules pertaining to Class I, Grade II Income Tax Service. S.S. Jaisinghani himself has argued his petition while Mr. Sarjoo Parshad had addressed this Court on behalf of the other seventy-two Petitioners. The Petitioners, who gained entrance in Class I, Grado II Service by an All-India Competitive Examination, assert that their colleagues in the Service promoted from Class II have gained an undue advantage over them on account of the operation of the quota" and 'seniority' rules which are assailed as unconstitutional and violative of Article 16 of the Constitution of India being discriminatory. The grievance of the Petitioners is pin-pointed at the order of the Central Board of, Revenue of 17th of April, 1962 (Exhibit L). According to this order which had been withheld for some time on the representations of the Petitioners and is now sought to be impugned in these proceedings, promotions to the rank of Assistant Commissioner were notified on a provisional basis of forty-four officers out of which as many as thirty-three are from the ranks of officers promoted from Class II to Class I.

(2.) The letter of the 29th of September, 1944, (Exhibit B) from the Deputy Secretary to the Government of India to all Commissioners of Income Tax purports to constitute different services of the Income Tax Department and the object of this re-constitution of service is stated to be the improvement of the Income Tax administration. There are two Grades in Class I Service one consisting of Commissioners of Income Tax, 54 Assistant Commissioners of, Income Tax and 163 Income Tax Officers Grade I. The second Branch of Class 1 Service is to consist of 183, Income Tax Officers, Grade II. Likewise, Central Service Class II is created which consists of 83 Income Tax Officers of Grade III. It may be mentioned that these different cadres include both permanent and temporary posts. It may be observed in passing that with effect from 1st July, 1959, there are now only two cadres of Income-Tex Officers, namely, Income Tax Officers Class I end Income Tax Officers Class II.

(3.) We are concerned in these petitions only in respect of the Service which came to be designated as Income Tax Officers, Grade II of Class I in Exhibit 'B' consisting of persons directly recruited "via the Indian Audit and Accounts and Allied Services Examination," and secondly, of officers promoted from Grade III of Class II. Later, some war recruits also came to be included in this service. Clause (d) of paragraph 2 of the letter (Exhibit B) embodying the quota rule, which is under attack in these proceedings, is as under: