JUDGMENT

SAWANT, J.:—Leave granted in all the Special Leave Petitions.

This group of appeals is directed against the decision of the High Court dated 31st January, 1992 dismissing the appellants appeals against the verdict of the learned single Judge in a group of writ petitions. Both the learned single Judge and the Division Bench in appeal, by their decisions in question have upheld the validity of the West Bengal State Health Service Act, 1990 (the Act) which was challenged mainly on three grounds, viz.,

(a) that the State Legislature did not have the competence to pass the Act and hence the Act was passed in violation of Article 252 of the Constitution.

(b) the Act imposes an unreasonable restriction on the fundamental right of the writ petitioners to practise guaranteed by Article 19(l)(g) of the Constitution.

(c) the Act was arbitrary and unreasonable and, therefore, violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.

Hence these appeals.

2. In order to appreciate the contentions of the appellants in this Court, it is necessary to trace the history of the West Bengal Health Service and the events which have occurred till date which have a bearing on the said contentions.

Prior to 1958, the Health Service of the State of West Bengal consisted of different cadres, viz., (i) West Bengal Higher Medical and Health Services (Gr. I); (ii) The West Bengal Higher Medical and Health Services (Gr. II); (iii) The West Bengal Medical and Health Services including its Rural Branch; (iv) Gazetted Posts of Medical Officers not included in any of the above cadres; (v) The West Bengal Junior Medical and Health Services including its Rural Branch; (vi) Post of Licentiate Medical Officers not specifically included in the cadre of the West Bengal Junior Medical and Health Services but carrying the time scale of pay of that Service. It does not appear that these different cadres were constituted by rules made under Article 309 of the Constitution.

It was in 1958 that the West Bengal Health Service (WBHS) was first constituted with a unified cadre of doctors under the West Bengal Health Service (Cadre, Pay and Allowance) Rules, 1958. These rules also do not appear to have been framed under Article 300 of the Constitution. Under these Rules, the doctors were classified into three broad categories, viz., (a) those who were engaged primarily in teaching along with the duties at the hospital to which the teaching institutions were attached, (b) those engaged on the curative side and attached to various hospitals and medical centres throughout the State and who were not engaged in teaching, (c) those who were primarily involved in administrative work.

No doctor was allowed to practise privately, whatever the category to which he belonged. Thus, private practice for Government doctors belonging to the WBHS was totally prohibited.

However, in 1965, the State Government passed an order relaxing the rule prohibiting private practice and permitted private practice to doctor occupying some of the posts in the WBHS subject to certain conditions. Those who opted for private practice had to forego certain pecuniary benefits such as non-practising allowance. They were further to submit their option in a prescribed form declaring that they had no claim or right as such to private practice and were liable to be transferred to any post in which private practice was not permissible. This step of allowing restrictive private practice was taken as a temporary and experimental measure. It was made clear that the position would be reviewed in the future in the light of the experience gained. Pursuant to the relaxation of the rule prohibiting private practice, those doctors who opted for private practice gave signed declarations and undertakings that they would not thereby deem to have acquired any right to private practice or appointment only to posts where private practice was permitted and that they were liable to be transferred to any post in the WBHS whether practising or non-pr