(1) LEAVE granted.

(2) THE Bihar State Electricity Board (for short "the Board") is in appeal before this Court against the judgment of the Division Bench of the Patna High Court wherein two memoranda dated 15-2-1996 and 1-4-1996 issued by the Executive Engineer of the Board stand set aside and quashed.

(3) ON the factual score it appears that both the writ petitions CWJCs Nos, 4576 and 1007 of 1997 contained a challenge to the above-noted two office orders dated 15-2-1996 and 1-4-1996. The writ petitioners, respondents herein, assert that both the writ petitioners have been given yearly increments based on service records without any misrepresentation on their part and that they have passed the Hindi Noting and Drafting Examination in the year 1993. The Board, however, on the basis of the above-noted two memoranda had ordered for recovery of diverse sums of money paid to them as and by way of increments on the ground that they did not pass the Hindi Noting and Drafting Examination at the relevant time which was a condition precedent for the grant of annual increment in terms of the policy decision of the Board.

(4) BE it noted that the Board by its Resolution No. 537 dated 16-7-1979 adopted the Bihar Government Service (Hindi Examination) Regulation, 1968 and made it applicable to the Board employees. Regulations 7 and 8 are set out hereinbelow:

"7. Such government servants, who have to pass the Hindi Reading-Writing Examination in Devnagari script or Hindi Noting and Drafting Examination in Devnagari script or both the examinations, shall neither be given increment nor be confirmed nor should they be allowed to cross the efficiency bar till such time as they pass the required Hindi examination or examinations.

8. Stoppage of increment shall have non-cumulative effect. The government servant concerned after passing the required examination or examinations, shall draw pay from the following date of that last examination at which he appeared and passed, at that stage of the timescale to which he shall be entitled, if his increment (increments) had not been stopped. No arrears of the stopped increment shall be payable."

(5) EVEN a cursory look at the above-noted two Regulations would depict the mandatory requirements of the Regulation that persons not being able to pass the Hindi Noting and Drafting Examination in Devnagari script or the Hindi Reading and Writing Examination in Devnagari script or both the examinations shall not be given increments or any promotion nor be allowed to cross the efficiency bar till such time the employees passed such examination or examinations and the entitlement to increment or promotion or crossing of the efficiency bar would commence only after passing of the required examination or examinations and not at any time prior thereto. It has been specifically stated that no arrears of the stopped increments shall be payable.

(6) ON the further factual score it appears that the writ petitioner, Shri Bashishtha Narain Prasad and another being respondents herein, joined the services of the Board in or about the year 1966 as Accounts Assistants and in due course of time they were, as a matter of fact, being paid in the normal course of events their salaries together with all due increments and also promotions in the scale and the grade. Resolution No. 537 dated 16-7-1979 as noted above was adopted by the Board making it necessary for the employees to pass the departmental examination of Hindi Noting and Drafting but in spite thereof all due promotions and increments were allowed to the petitioners and it is on this score that the petitioners assert that only in the year 1993 they came to know about the requirement and as such appeared in the examination in December 1993 wherein the petitioners were declared successful. Incidentally the Board also by Resolution No. 119 dated 15-3-1996 laid down that all employees of the Board excepting Class IV employee