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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
P. JAGANMOHAN REDDY, P.N. BHAGWATI AND P.K. GOSWAMI, JJ.
Mohd. Shahabuddin and others, (in WP No. 12 of 1972) and C. K. Nagaraja and others, (In WP No. 149 of 1972), Petitioners
Versus
Union of India (In both the Petns.), Respondent.
Writ Petns. Nos. 12 and 149 of 1972,
D/- 22-1-1975.
Advocates appeared
Mr. D. V. Patel, Sr. Advocate, (Mr. K. N. Bhatt, Advocate, with him) (In W.P. No. 12 of 1972) and Mr. H. B. Datar Sr. Advocate, (M/s. P. P. Bhopanna and Narayan Nattiar, Advocates with him), for Petitioners (in W.P. No. 149 of 1972). M/s. S. N. Prasad and R. N. Sachthey Advocates (for No. 1) (In W.P. Nos. 12 and 149 of 1972); Mr. Puttaswamy, Addl. Govt. Advocate for the State of Karnataka, (Mr. Veerappa, Advocate, with him) (for Nos. 2 and 3) (In W.P. No. 12 of l972); Mr. M. Veerappa, Advocate (for Nos. 2 and 3) (In W.P. No. 149 of 1972) M/s. S. S. Javeli and B. P. Singh Advocates (for Nos. 4-9, 10-12 and 14) (In W.P. No. 12 of 1972) and (Nos. 4-9) In W.P. No. 149 of 1972, Mr. Narayana Nattiar, Advocate (for No. 13) (In W.P. No. 12 of 1972) for Respondents.
States Reorganization Act, 1956 - Posts and inter se seniority of allocated - Recruitment to post - On constitution of new State of Mysore by coming together of these five integrating areas a question arose as to how graduate teachers allotted to new State of Mysore from these five integrating areas should be adjusted so as to form an integrated service in new State of Mysore and it was therefore necessary to decide where and at what place they should be adjusted in constitution of new service - This process necessarily involved equation of posts absorption of service personnel in equated posts and determination of inter se seniority - Now this was not a problem confined to one service or one State alone and principles had therefore to be evolved which would be uniformly applicable in relation to integration of services in all States which were going to be affected by reorganization - A meeting of Chief Secretaries of these States was accordingly held at at invitation of Central Government - Certain decisions were taken at this meeting as to general principles that should be observed with regard to work of integration of services - Held, It is difficult to see how in absence of any other strong and relevant countervailing considerations ex-Hyderabad grade where minimum qualification of trained graduate was always insisted on and followed could be equated with ex-Mysore grade of where minimum qualification of trained graduate was not a sine qua non for recruitment and in fact more than half number of teachers were untrained graduates - It may be noted that untrained graduates in grade of amount were not only entitled to their usual increments but they could also be promoted to next higher grade amount - There were admittedly at time of reorganization out of ex-Mysore teachers in grade of who were untrained graduates Similarly in erstwhile Bombay State also minimum qualification of trained graduate was not necessary for recruitment to grade - If a candidate was a trained graduate he was given an advance increment but even without being trained he could gain admittance in grade vice Appendix to Bombay Education Manual and Rule 131 in Section VIII of Bombay Civil Services Classification and Recruitment Rules set out of affidavit in reply filed - Order accordingly
Judgment
BHAGWATI, J.: - The short question that arises for consideration in these petitions is as to the validity of the equation of posts of graduate teachers allotted to the new State of Mysore constituted under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. This Act re-drew the boundaries of the different States in India with effect from 1st November, 1956 and inter alia a new State of Mysore was formed comprising the territories of the existing States of Mysore and Coorg, four districts in the existing State of Bombay, three districts in the existing State of Hyderabad and one district in the existing State of Madras. Prior to the reorganisation, each of these five integrating areas, which went to make up the new State of Mysore, had a different set up of school administration. The schools in the Mysore and Coorg areas were classified into Primary schools, Middle schools and High schools. In the Bombay and Madras areas, the schools were classified into Primary schools and Secondary Schools and in the Hyderabad area the classification was into Primary schools, Middle schools and composite schools. The Secondary schools in the Bombay and Madras areas and the composite schools in the Hyderabad area comprised the same classes as the Middle schools and High schools in the Mysore and Coorg areas. The posts of teachers in these schools were inter-changeable with the posts in the Inspectorate Branch of the Education Department and the training Institutions and they belonged to common cadres. We shall, for the sake of convenience, refer to the persons occupying the posts of teachers in these schools as also the persons occupying corresponding posts in the Inspectorate Branch and the Training Institution as "graduate teachers . These petitions are concerned only with graduate teachers so described and, therefore, we shall confine our discussion to them alone.
2. The graduate teachers in each of the five integrating areas were divided into two grades, a lower grade and a higher grade and the pay scales of these two grades differed from one integrating area to the other as shown by the following particulars:
Integrating area Lower Grade Higher Grade
Mysore Rs. 60-150 Rs. 130-200
Coorg Rs. 80-220 Rs. 100-300
Bombay Rs. 70-200 Rs. 210-300
Madras Rs. 85-175 Rs. 165-245
Hyderabad Rs. 130-190 Rs. 154-275
There was also one post of Principal, Janata College in the Coorg area prior to the reorganisation which carried a pay scale of Rs. 200-300. This was a college started on an experimental basis under the Five Year Plan and the post of Principal was created as a temporary post under a Government Order dated 7th March, 1955.
3. On the constitution of the new State of Mysore by coming together of these five integrating areas, a question arose as to how the graduate teachers allotted to the new State of Mysore from these five integrating areas should be adjusted so as to form an integrated service in the new State of Mysore and it was, therefore, necessary to decide where and at what place they should be adjusted in the constitution of the new service. This process necessarily involved equation of posts, absorption of service personnel in the equated posts and the determination of inter se seniority. Now, this was not a problem confined to one service or one State alone and principles had, therefore, to be evolved which would be uniformly applicable in relation to integration of services in all the States which were going to be affected by the reorganisation. A meeting of the Chief Secretaries of these States was accordingly held at Delhi on 18th and 19th May, 1956 at the invitation of the Central Government. Certain decisions were taken at this meeting as to the general principles that should be observed with regard to the work of integration of the services. The Government of India, by their letter dated 3rd April l957, informed the State Governments that they had decided that the work of integration of services should be dealt with by the State Governme
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