Judgment :-

AftabAlam, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. The appellants, Bihar State Electricity Board and its Chairman were the defendants in a suit filed by respondents 1 to 8, the plaintiffs. The respondents were the workmen of the Board and at the material time, i.e., in the year 1974 they were working as security guards at Patratu Thermal Power Station, Hazaribagh. They were proceeded against on certain charges of misconduct. In the domestic enquiry the charges were established and on the basis of the findings of the domestic enquiry, they were dismissed from service on November 11, 1975. After 4 years of dismissal from service they filed a suit (T.S. No. 95/1979) in the court of Munsiff V, Patna, seeking declarations that their dismissal was bad, unconstitutional and inoperative in law and they would be legally deemed to have continued in service.

3. The trial court allowed the suit by judgment and decree dated August 29, 1981. The appeal preferred by the appellants against the judgment and decree passed by the trial court (Title Appeal No. 147 of 1981/62/2004) was dismissed by the Additional District Judge, fast track court No. 2, Patna, by judgment dated January 18, 2006. The appellants, then, brought the matter before the High Court in second appeal (SA No. 97 of 2006) but this too was dismissed by judgment and order dated September 22, 2008. The appellants are now before this Court assailing the judgments and decree passed against them.

4. In view of section 89 of the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000 the judgments of the High Court and the first appellate court appear to be manifestly illegal and without jurisdiction. It may be noted that the district of Hazaribagh, where Patratu Thermal Power Station is situated, was earlier part of the State of Bihar but on bifurcation of the State with effect from November 15, 2000, the appointed date under the Reorganisation Act it forms part of the newly created State Jharkhand. Section 89 of the Reorganisation Act dealing with transfer of pending proceedings provides as follows -

“89. ”Transfer of pending proceedings –

(1) Every proceeding pending immediately before the appointed day before the court (other than the High Court), tribunal, authority or officer in any area which on that day falls within the State of Bihar shall, if it is a proceeding relating exclusively to the territory, which as from that day is the territory of Jharkhand State, stand transferred to the corresponding court, tribunal, authority or officer of that State.

(2) If any question arises as to whether any proceeding should stand transferred under sub-section (1), it shall be referred to the High Court at Patna and the decision of that High Court shall be final.

(3) In this section, -

a) “proceeding” includes any suit, case or appeal; and b) “corresponding court, tribunal authority or officer” in the State of Jharkhand means, -

(i) the court, tribunal, authority or officer in which, or before whom, the proceeding would have laid if it had been instituted after the appointed day; or

(ii) in case of doubt, such court, tribunal, authority, or officer in that State, as may be determined after the appointed day by the Government of that State or the Central Government, as the case may be, or before the appointed day by the Government of the existing State of Bihar to be the corresponding court, tribunal, authority or officer.”

(emphasis added)

From a bare reading of section 89 of the Act, it is evident that on the appointed date the appeal preferred against the judgment and decree passed by the Munsiff stood transferred to a corresponding court in the State of Jharkhand. The transfer of the appeal took place by operation of law and the Additional District Judge, Patna was denuded of all authority and jurisdiction to proceed with the matter or to hear and decide the appeal. It follows equally that the Patna High Court had no jurisdiction to hear and decide the second appeal arising from the suit.

5. From the judgment of the