1. The short question in these three writ appeals is whether the Banks, the Catholic Syrian Bank Ltd., and the South Indian Bank Ltd., included in the schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, is 'State' within the meaning of Art.12 of the Constitution. These Banks are not nationalised under the Bank Nationalisation

Act.

2. The Appellants employed in these Banks were not selected for promotion to higher categories and filed these writ petitions against the two Banks, challenging their supersession. At the threshold, the question of jurisdiction arose. All the three writ petitions have been dismissed on the ground that these banks are not'State' under Art.12 of the Constitution and therefore not amenable to the writ jurisdiction of this Court. It is against these decisions that these appeals have been filed.

3. At the outset, it has to be stated that factual basis has not been made in the pleadings to lead to the conclusion that these Scheduled Banks are 'other authorities' and therefore "State" under Art.12. In fact, there is no averment in O. P. No. 1912 of 1982 that the South Indian Bank Ltd.. is 'State'. In the other two writ petitions the only averments are that the t