JUDGMENT

Rajendra Babu, J.-The appellants before us are serving in the Zoological Survey of India under the control of the Ministry of Environment and Forests. Most of them were appointed as Assistant Zoologists by direct recruitment and some of them were promoted to the post of Assistant Zoologist under the Zoological Survey of India (Central Service Class I and Class II posts) Recruitment Rules, 1963, as amended from time to time. They contended that they were governed by the Recruitment Rules, which prescribed only the Master s degree in Zoology as essential qualification for the post of Assistant Zoologist and experience relating to the posts above that of the Assistant Zoologist would be Scientist-B and so on. Annexure-II to the Recruitment Rules provides the norms for recruitment to the scientific posts as under :

SC SD SE SF SG G H Rs. 2200 Rs. 3000 Rs. 3700 Rs. 4500 Rs. 5100 Rs. 5900 Rs. 5900 -75-2800- -100- -125- -150- -150- 200-6700 -200- EB-100- 3500- 470