JUDGMENT

Nanavati, J.-Leave granted.

2. This appeal by special leave is directed against the judgment and order passed by the High Court of Allahabad in Special Appeal No. 877 of 1993.

3. Fourteen banks including the Punjab National Bank Ltd. (for short PNB ) were nationalised in 1970. Six more banks including the New Bank of India (for short NBI ) were nationalised by the Banking Companies (Acquisition & Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1980 (for short the Act ). Finding it necessary, the Central Government, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 9 of the Act, framed a scheme for amalgamation of NBI with PNB, named as the New Bank of India (Amalgamation and Transfer of Undertakings) Scheme, 1993. On the commencement of the Scheme the Undertakings of NBI stood transferred to and vested in PNB. All the officers and other employees of NBI, who were willing to join PNB, became officers and employees of PNB. As a result of this merger, some officers and employees of former NBI were found surplus. Therefore, on 16.9.93, the PNB framed guidelines for deployment/re-deployment of such surplus staff as well as for ensuring exchange of personnel and proper placing of officers of the ba