JUDGMENT

KANIA, J.

( 1 ) SPECIAL leave granted. Counsel heard.

( 2 ) THIS is an appeal filed by the Reserve Bank of India, by special leave. The contesting respondent, being respondent No. 1 is an association of its officers at its Gauhati unit. The respondent association (referred to hereinafter as "the respondent") represents the interests of 45 officers belonging to Grades A to C employed in the appellant bank at its unit at Gauhati. It appears from the affidavit filed on behalf of the appellant that there was difficulty in persuading officers of the appellant posted outside the North-Eastern region to accept transfers to the unit of the appellant in the North-Eastern part of the country which unit was Located at Gauhati in Assam. It also emerges from the record that the Gauliati station was regarded as a hardship station by the officers who were transferred to the Gauhati unit from other regions of the country. The Government of India found a similar difficulty in persuading its officers to accept postings in the North-Eastern region and they were given substantial incentives to accept transfers to the North-Eastern region. We are not here concerned directly with the actual bene