CHANDRA CHOOR PANDIT Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition has been filed by the petitioners for the following reliefs:--

(2.) The claim of the petitioners is that after following the prescribed recruitment procedure, they were initially appointed on different posts in the then Bihar State Dairy Corporation Limited (hereinafter referred to as 'the Corporation' for the sake of brevity) and their services were regularized against different Class-III posts vide order dated 7.11.1977. However, when the Corporation did not prove to be a profitable venture the State Government decided to close the same and to transfer its assets and liabilities to Bihar State Cooperative Milk Producers Federation. Limited (hereinafter referred to as 'the Federation' for the sake of brevity) which was constituted to execute and implement the scheme 'Operation Flood-II' and to absorb the services of the officers and Staff of the Corporation in the Federation in accordance with their utility and thereafter the services of the remaining officers and staff of the Corporation shall be absorbed in different Government Departments, including Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Department, Agriculture Department, Public Works Department, Rural Engineering Organization Department, etc. A resolution in that respect was published on 10.2.1984.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioners stated that vide letter dated 7.2.1986 the Special Secretary, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Department sent the names of Class-III and Class-IV employees of the Corporation, including the petitioners, for absorption in the Federation. However, in the said letter the name of one Sri Awadh Kishore Singh was at serial No. 19 and he was subsequently regularized with effect from 1.4.1974, whereas the petitioners, several of whom, were above serial No. 19 and were senior to him were not regularized, although all the employees whose names were forwarded by the aforesaid letter were absorbed against Class-III posts of Live Stock Assistant in the then pay scale of Rs. 535-765 vide order dated 7.3.1986 and were posted under Intensive Cattle Development Branch (hereinafter referred to as 'the ICDB' for the sake of brevity) and even then they were working regularly on that post without any promotion, although they were given pay protection and continuity of service vide letter dated 15.6.1987.