Judgment

O. CHINNAPPA REDDY, J.:- These three appeals raise common questions. Pursuant to a decision to progressively dieselise rail transport, the Railway Board, with the approval of the President, decided upon the method of recruitment, training, scales of pay and allowances of the staff employed upon diesel locomotives. In the case of running staff, the post to which initial recruitment was to be made was that of diesel cleaner. Diesel cleaners were to have minimum middle school educational standard, but a proportion of the posts were proposed to be reserved for matriculates with a view to train them as skilled fitters and drivers. Cleaners who were matriculates and medically fit were first to be promoted as Drivers assistants after passing the prescribed suitability test. Thereafter the promotions were to the posts of shunter, Diesel Driver (C), Diesel Driver (B) and Diesel Driver (A) in that order. These promotions were to be made by selection. As dieselisation was to be introduced soon and as it was not possible to appoint cleaners straightway as drivers, it was proposed to draw upon the staff of the "steam running side" to operate diesel locomotives by providing suitable training to them. It may be useful to extract here the note appended to the Railway Boards letter dated February 3, 1958 in regard to the drawing up of the staff on the steam running side to operate diesel trains. The note is as follows :

"Note:- Immediately there will be diesel operation only on goods trains and since the services are to be operated shortly and initial recruitment cannot be made to the cleaners category in the first instance the intention is that staff on the steam running side should be drafted on to diesel operation by providing suitable training in operation of diesel locos. Steam staff so absorbed as drivers grade C will be given three advance increments after normal fixation in the grade C of drivers or over their pay in C grade pay on this basis of three advance increments will be drawn by the staff only for so long as they work as Diesel Drivers and on their reversion to the steam side their pay too would be fixed as though they had not been allowed the benefit of these advance increments.

So far as Drivers Assistants and Shunters are concerned, staff should also be drawn from the steam side in the first instance. It is, however, necessary to absorb on the diesel side only matriculates or if non-matriculates, those whose literacy standard is comparable with that of matriculates".

On April 18, 1966 the Railway Administration issued another Circular in which it was mentioned that the staff eligible for the posts of Drivers Assistants were those employed in lower grades of Firemen on the steam side and trained for working in the posts of Drivers Assistants on the diesel side, subject to the condition that no non-matriculate shall be considered for such posts without the approval of the Headquarters. It was also provided that directly recruited cleaners on the diesel side who were matriculates were also eligible, along with Firemen on the steam side who had received the prescribed training, for appointment as Drivers Assistants on the diesel side on the basis of a combined seniority list. The inter se seniority of each was to be maintained separately. This letter gave a clear indication that the seniority of Drivers Assistants was to be reckoned on the basis of their appointment as Drivers Assistants. whatever their original seniority might have been as Firemen. Earlier, on August 25, 1965, the General Manager, Northern Railway, had clarified the position as follows :

"As a result of combination of seniority there may be cases where some persons subsequently junior to others may be officiating in higher grades; such Junior persons will not be reverted to make room for persons, senior to them.

The senior persons will be considered for promotions in higher grade against future vacancies, subject to their fulfilling any other conditions that