Promotional qualifications under reorganisation law may be validly changed by the successor State without violating service protection.

The Gujarat Government could validly require the G.D.C. & A. examination as a qualification for promotion of allotted government servants, because the relevant service conditions included the possibility of future valid rules on promotion made by the reorganised State. The protection in section 81(6) of the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960 was read in the context of the earlier reorganisation framework, and the Central Government's approval had legal effect within the scheme of the Act. On that basis, Gujarat inherited power to regulate promotional qualifications, and the prescription was not inconsistent with the statutory protection against disadvantageous variation.

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Issues: Whether the Gujarat Government was competent to prescribe passing of the G.D.C. & A. examination as a qualification for promotion of the allotted government servants, and whether such prescription was hit by section 81(6) of the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960.

Analysis: The relevant pre-existing conditions of service included not only the rules then in force but also the liability to be governed by valid future rules made by the reorganised State in matters of promotion. The protection under section 81(6) was read in the light of the earlier arrangement under section 115(7) of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, and the Central Government's approval operated as law within the meaning of section 2(d) and section 87 of the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960. On that basis, the State of Gujarat inherited the power to regulate promotional qualifications and could validly require the G.D.C. & A. examination.

Conclusion: The prescription of G.D.C. & A. as a qualification for promotion was valid and not contrary to section 81(6) of the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded and the High Court's judgment was set aside, while the direction that no recovery be made was left undisturbed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the successor State is empowered by the applicable reorganisation law and the pre-existing service regime, it may validly alter promotional qualifications without offending the statutory protection against variation to the employee's disadvantage.

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