S.S.SANDHAWALIA, J.

1. Whether Article 15 (inserted by Bihar Act of 1974) of Schedule I of the Bihar and Orissa Public Demands Recovery Act, is beyond the competence of the State Legislature, is the significant common question in this set of 6 writ petitions, placed for an authoritative decision by a Division Bench.

2. The matrix of facts may be briefly noted from Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 3310 of 1985 (Sawar Mal Choudhary V/s. The State Bank of India and others). The petitioner purchased a truck under the educated employment scheme, which was financed partly by the State Bank of India, Katihar Branch, by raising a loan of rupees one lac. An agreement was duly executed between the petitioner and the State Bank of India, through a hypothecation deed and it is admitted that the petitioner had made certain payments towards the loan advanced by the respondent State Bank of India. Apparently, on the failure of the petitioner to make repayment of the loan, the respondent Bank sent a requisition, under the Bihar and Orissa Public Demands Recovery Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act), on the 26th April, 1984, on the basis of which a Certificate Case No. 5 of 1984 was reg