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For the purpose of recruitment, the Banking Service Recruitment Board (hereinafter referred to as "the BSRB") issued an advertisement in the newspapers. The contention of the Bank before the High Court was that in view of the financial crisis they had revised their indents submitted to the BSRB, long before the publication of the results regarding intimation of selection and as such the BSRB ought not to have gone ahead and issued letters of selection based on the original indent submitted by the Bank to the candidates and that merely by getting an intimation of selection, no right accrues to the candidates for appointment.
The selections to the category of Officers in the Bank is done by the BSRB. Indents are submitted by the Bank to the BSRB. By letter dated 14.01.1987, an indent was placed by the Bank to the BSRB. In the said indent for the category of Officers, 36 posts were mentioned and for the category of Field Supervisors, 61 posts were mentioned. Thereafter, by letter dated 23.06.1987, the indent for Field Supervisors was revised from 61 to 30. By further letter of 18.11.1987 another revised indent was submitted, wherein the requirements were as follows:- Officers Cadre … 36 Field Supervisors … 30 On 23.08.1988 a revised indent was submitted by the Bank to the BSRB under which their requirements were as follows:- Officers … 14 Field Supervisors … 11 This letter was replied to by the BSRB on 01.09.1988 whereunder they refused to accommodate the Bank's request. According to the Bank, as stated in the grounds of special leave petition, the reasons which had pruned their indent well ahead of the publication of the results were:

According to the Bank, they had bona fide and genuine reasons for pruning down the indent and the Bank had communicated the revised indent by 23.08.1988, well ahead of the publication of the results and if the Banks are forced to accommodate Officers and Field Supervisors more than their required indent, it will have a crippling effect on the Bank.

As already noticed, the Bank had placed a revised indent in view of the changed circumstances. However, the BSRB expressed its unwillingness to accept the revised indent and they had stated that the matter will be considered by the Board. In the meeting of the Board held on 11.11.1988, it was decided that no reduction in the original indent was to be done. The BSRB expressed their unwillingness to accommodate the appellant-Bank's request and sent nomination letters to the respondents based on the original indent and also published the results and also intimated the selection on 28.11.1988. The respondents/candidates aggrieved by the non-absorption filed writ petitions in the High Court seeking Mandamus directing the appellant-Bank to appoint them in the respective posts. The matter was placed before the Division Bench of the High Court. The Division Bench observing that as a common merit list was drawn by the BSRB, there can be no dispute that the appointments have to be strictly in accordance with the merit list, in view of the conflicting views expressed in various decisions placed the writ applications before a larger Bench to decide the question as to (a) when specific vacancies were intimated by the Gramya Banks for appointment to the posts of Field Supervisors and Officers, and in pursuance of their indent, the BSRB conducted one common examination, and the petitioners were successful, whether they can be denied the orders of appointment by the concerned Bank on the ground of financial crisis, (b) when BSRB after conducting examination in respect of all the posts prepared one merit list and because of individual choice, any/some successful candidates were allotted to a particular Bank whether the Bank, to which any successful candidate is allotted can refuse order of appointment even if the candidate is higher up in the select list. Particularly, in this case while other Banks issued appointment orders to other successful candidates, non-issuance of appointment letters by Baitarani Gramya Bank will be violative of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, and (c) whether a person selected in pursuance of an advertisement for selection has a right to demand order of appointment, if he is higher up in merit list, and others lower in the merit list are appointed in other Banks. The Full Bench held as follows:

Accordingly, the writ petitions are allowed. The opposite party Baitrani Gramya Bank is directed to issue appointment orders to the petitioners in the respective posts for which they have been selected forthwith. There will be no order for costs."

Aggrieved by the judgment and order dated 26.09.1994 of the Division Bench of the High Court, the above three appeals were filed.

Mr. K.V. Viswanathan, learned counsel appearing for the appellant-Bank, submitted that the impugned order has totally overlooked the prejudice that would be caused to public interest if the respondents are directed to be appointed in the appellant-Bank. He also submitted that in the advertisement issued by the BSRB, based on their original indent, it was clearly mentioned that the vacancies are approximate and likely to be varied upward or downwards depending on the needs of the indenting Banks and that this aspect of the matter has not been considered at all either by the Full Bench or by the Division Bench of the High Court. He would further submit that in the case of the appellant-Bank, the revised indent was submitted on 23.08.1988, long before the publication of the result an intimation of selection was sent to the respondents and the BSRB ought to have sent the nominations on the basis of the revised indent and not on the basis of the original indent and that for the fault of the BSRB, the appellant-Bank cannot be prejudiced. In any case, he submitted that the selection/nomination does not confer a indefeasible right on the respondents to seek appointments and the selection intimation was not an offer of appointment when in fact in the selection nomination itself it was mentioned that the offer of appointment was to be made by the Bank. It is to be noted that no such offer was made. He further submitted that the Bank had reduced the indent for bona fide reasons as stated in the grounds of special leave petition and that the Bank had bona fide and genuine reasons for pruning down the indent.