Judgment

SHAH, J.- K. E Elias-first respondent herein - was an employee of the Orient Central Bank Ltd. He was posted to do duty as a Civil Agent . The Orient Central Bank Ltd. was amalgamated with the Kottayam Bank Ltd. The amalgamated bank was named the Kottayam Orient Bank Ltd. -hereinafter called the K. O. Bank . The services of Elias were transferred to the K. O. Bank. Elias continued to perform the duties of a Civil Agent of that Bank and certain specific duties relating to court cases were assigned to him by the K. O. Bank. The K. O. Bank issued a circular sanctioning the salary and allowances payable to all its subordinate staff under three heads - Assistants, Clerks and Peons The salary and allowances paid to the clerks were Rs. 46-2-50 3-80 EB-4-100 plus dearness allowance Rs. 20/. No separate scale was fixed for "Civil Agents" and it is common ground that Elias was `given the salary and allowances payable to Clerks.

2. Pursuant to a scheme of amalgamation prepared by the Reserve Bank under S. 45 (4) (d) (ii) of the Banking Regulation Act 10 of 1949, the K. O. Bank was amalgamated with the State Bank of Travancore - hereinafter called the "State Bank". Under that scheme