ORDER

This special leave petition arises from the order of the Administrative Tribunal, Calcutta, made on December 12, 1996 in Case No. TA-268/96. The petitioners had a dialogue with the Government of West Bengal to revise the service conditions of the employees in the Fishery Department, namely, Assistant Fishery Officers, Fishery Extension Officers etc. w.e.f. April 1, 1961. There was an agreement reached between the Government and the Union of the first petitioner. Subsequently, the Government have issued orders giving all the benefits except the monetary benefits from April 1, 1961 to April 1, 1981 prospectively. The petitioners have filed the petition in the Tribunal seeking direction for payment of arrears on the premise that it was a tripartite agreement and, therefore, the Government is bound by the undertaking given in the agreement. The Tribunal has perused the record and stated thus :

"It appears from the documents on record that the Finance Department was/a party/not to such decisions. Nor does it appear that subsequently concurrence of the Finance Department was obtained in this connection. Besides, it does not appear that the decision were translated into any formal Go