STATE OF MAHARASHTRA & ANR. versus CHANDRAKANT ANANT KULKARNI & ORS.

Citation: [1982] 1 S.C.R. 665 · Decided: 08-09-1981 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: O. CHINNAPPA REDDY · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed
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Judgment (excerpt)

1 
'"" 
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA:'.&:'ANR. 
v. 
CHANDRAKANT ANANT KULKARNI & ORS. 
September 8, 1981 
[0. CHINNAPPA REDDY, A.P. SEN AND 
BAHARUL !SLAM, JJ.] 
Stare Reorganisation Acr 1956, S. 115(5) and (7). 
665 
Reorganisation of State of Bombay-Assistant Sales Tax Officers of Madhya 
Pradesh and Hyderabad and Safes Tax Inspectors of Bombay allocated to new 
State-Integration of service. 
State Government executive order altering departmental promotion ru/e-
ASl'Os of M.P. Hyderabad required to pass departmental examination for pro~ 
motion-Whether alteration of condition of service, permissible, valid. 
Seniority list of allocated ASTOS and ST!s-State Government unilaterally 
altering the list-ASTOS of M.P., Hyderabad vlaced in isolated category above 
SI'ls for Bombay-Validity of. 
A 
B 
c 
D 
Integration of services-Equation of posts purely administrative function-
E 
Chances of promotion-Not condition of service-Fair and equitable treatment-
What is. 
Assistant Sales Tax Officers serving in connection with the affairs of the 
former States of Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad, on the appointed date, were 
allocated to the new State of Bombay under s. 115 of the States Reorganisation 
Act, 1956 (Act No. XXXVII) with effect from November I, 1956. The Assistant 
Sales Tax Officers from the former States of Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad 
were superior to the Sales Tax Inspectors in their respective States and the posts 
of Assistant Sales Tax Officer in those States was a promotion post. In the 
former State of Bombay, there was no similarly constituted cadre of Assistant 
Sales Tax Officers, but there were posts of Sales Tax Inspectors. 
F 
On November 16, 1957, the State Government by its resolution directed that 
G 
the ASTOs from Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad should continue in their res-
pective pay-scales until such of them were not appointed as STOs Grade III, and 
Notes 3 and6 appended to the Resolution provided that for purposes of promotion 
their inter se seniority be fixed on the basis of their service as STOs and ASTOs. 
On February 3, 1960, the State Government substantially modified rule 7 ot the 
Allocated Government Servants (Absorption, Seniority, Pay and AIIowances) 
Rules, 1957 and a new rule 7 was substituted whi~h provided that the seniority of 
H 
an allocated Government servant in the post or cadre of absorption shall, as on 
November 1, 1956 be determined by the length of continu_ous service etc. Since 
A 
B 
c 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H 
666 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[1982] J S.C.R. 
there were no con;iparabie posts of ASTOs in the former State of Bombay, the 
Central Government directed that the ASTOs from Madhya Pradesh and Hydera-
bad should not be equated with the post of STis but should be continued in an 
isolated category and their seniority should be fixed above the persons in the 
next lower grade. The State Government by its resolution dated September 10, 
1960 modified Notes 3 and 6 and directed that the seniority as on November 11 
1956 of ASTOs from Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad be fixed above all persons 
absorbed as STis and that the inter se seniority of STOs from Madhya Pradesh 
and Hyderabad be fixed on the basis of their continuous service as ASTOs, and 
that the service rendered by the ASTOs from Madhya Pradesh as Excise Inspec· 
tors or Assistant District Excise Officers in the Excise Department be counted 
as equivalent service. On August 17J 1962, the State Government prepared a 
fresh provisional gradation list of ASTOs and STls and invited objections. None 
of the respondents raised any objection. 
Upto and until August 8, 1960, departmental examinations for promotion 
to the post of STOs were conducted under the three different sets of rules appli. 
cable to the former States of Bombay, Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad. The 
Departmental Examination Rules for Sales Tax Officers 1954 framed by the 
former State Government of Bombay were made applicable to the Assistant 
Sales Tax Officers allocated from Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad from August 
8, 1960, as the provisions of the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959 were extended to 
the whole of the State, the CP and Berar Sales Tax Act 1947 and the Hyderabad 
General Sales Tax 1950 having been repealed. The ASTOs from Vidarbha and 
Marathwada regions of Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad were called upon to 
appear at the examinations prescribed from the STOs of the old Bombay region, 
and some of the ASTOs from Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad who had been 
promo
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