Summarize the following court judgment. Appeal 1236 of 1970. Appeal by Special Leave from the Judgment and Decree dated the 6th November	 1968 of the Allahabad High Court in First Appeal No. 361 of 1964. Yogeshwar Prasad	 section K. Bagga and section Bagga; for the Appellant. section N. Prasad and section P. Nayar	 for the Respondent. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by BEG	 J. The plaintiff appellant 's allegations	 in the suit which comes up by special leave before us	 may be stated as follows The appellant was appointed a Clerk on 29 7 1925 at Gorakhpur in the Accounts Department of what was then the Bengal North Eastern Railway. In January	 1930	 he was appointed Assistant Office Superintendent. The Railway was taken over by the State and renamed as Oudh Tirhut Railway (0. T. R.)	 and	 subsequently	 it became the North Eastern Railway. In January	 1949	 the appellant was appointed officiating Assistant Secretary to the General Manager as a Class II Officer. On 11 5 1949	 he was promoted to the post of Office Superintendent. But	 on that very date	 he was served with a charge sheet by the Deputy General Manager and called upon to explain	 within 3 days	 the use of certain first class passes issued to him. On 14 5 1949	 he submitted his explanation and justified the use of these passes by quoting specific rules and similar instances. On 29 6 1949	 the General Manager reverted the appellant from the Post of office Superintendent to that of the Assistant Office Superintendent with effect from 1 7 1949 without holding any enquiry at all as required by the Disciplinary and Appeal Rules of the Railway. The appellant 's case is that	 despite his demotion	 he continued to perform the duties of the Office Superintendent presumably because he was efficient. On 27 7 1949	 the appellant filed an appeal to the General Manager with the result that	 on 29 11 1950	 the Deputy General Manager had to withdraw the charges with the remarks: 		since the appellant had used the passes under a genuine and reasonable belief	 no stigma was attached". Thereupon	 the appellant applied to the General Manager for formal reinstatement in the post of Office Superintendent and payment of arrears of his salary. Curiously	 the General Manager	 while awarding an honorarium of Rs. 40/ per month for the additional work of Office Superintendent done by the appellant	 practically upheld the reversion order with the remark that the appellant 's guilt was established. Against this order the appellant filed an appeal on 30 7 1952 to the Railway Board through the General Manager which was daily forwarded to the Railway Board on 19 8 1952. On 30th October	 1954	 the Railway Board sent a letter to the General Manager stating that the question raised by the appellant was not a "live issue"	 and	 therefore	 there was no reason to interfere with the General Manager 's action. On 30 9 1959	 the appellant retired at the age of 57 despite his claim that he was entitled to continue up to the age of 60 years. The appellant alleged that he received no intimation about the disposal of his appeal by 487 the Railway Board despite the fact that he went on sending reminders. to the Railway Board. On 15 12 1959	 the Railway Board had asked for clarification from him. He had also been assured by the then General and Deputy General Managers	 in 1961	 that his case would ' be decided to his satisfaction. Furthermore	 he alleged that he wrote to the General Manager on 16 3 1962	 and	 again on 22 3 1962	 to find out the result of his appeal but he received no answer. Therefore	 finally he served a notice on 24 9 1962 under Section 80 Civil Procedure Code upon the General Manager	 North Eastern Railway	 Gorakhpur	 and the Union of India. He claimed that Rs. 21	088.04 was due to him as arrears of salary and allowances. He filed his suit on 27 11 62 ' for a declaration that from 1 7 1949	 the date of illegal reversion	. up to 30 9 1959	 the date of the appellant 's retirement	 he was a Rail way employee on a salary ranging from	 Rs. 450/ to Rs. 575/ per month	 together with 20% special pay from 10 6 1956 to 30 9 1959 and increased gratuity	 and	 that	 after his retirement	 he became entitled to the appropriate pension and gratuity allowance. He had also demanded payment of a sum of Rs. 19	795/ 	 the details. of which were given in a schedule	 after relinquishing Rs. 1	293.04 and interest. The defendants ' version was : The plaintiff	 who was an Assistant Office Superintendent from 29 9 1948	 was promoted to officiate as. Office Superintendent with effect from 12 7 1948 in the scale of Rs. 360 500 with a clear stipulation that the promotion was subject to the plaintiff 's selection subsequently and would not give him any claim to the post. It was admitted that the plaintiff was appointed to officiate as Assistant Office Superintendent from 21 1 1949	 but	 it was alleged that	 during the period of 18 days for which he held this. post upto 7 2 1949	 and	 even after that	 the plaintiff had illegally utilised certain passes obtained under his signatures. A Selection Board	 which met on 12 2 1949	 for selection to the post of Office Superintendent	 did not find the plaintiff to be the most suitable candidate. Hence	 the plaintiff was reverted to the post of Assistant Office Superintendent from 14 2 1949. The plaintiff was again promoted to officiate as Office Superintendent with effect from 11 5 1949	 but he was again reverted to his substantive post with effect from 1 7 1949 as a result of the charge sheet against him. The Railway administration had decided to appoint a second Selection Board after canceling the appointment of the first one. The second Selection. Board	 which met on 11 11 1949	 placed the appellant only second in order of merit so that the appellant had to continue as Assistant Office Superintendent. Hence	 no question of his promotion as Office Superintendent arose. Furthermore	 it was stated that the post of the Office Superintendent itself was held in abeyance from 1 7 1949	 but	 another post. of Assistant Office Superintendent was created in its place. It was	 therefore	 submitted that the plaintiff could never have held a post which was in abeyance. it was asserted that the Plaintiff was given reasonable opportunity for showing cause against the action proposed to be taken against him before his reversion	. and that	 after 1 7 1949	 as a result of the representation made by the. 488 plaintiff	 the General Manager gave the plaintiff a personal hearing and also appointed a Committee of three officers to examine the whole case of the plaintiff	 including alleged withdrawal of the charge against him. The Committee reported to the General Manager that the remark made by the Deputy General Manager that no stigma was attached to the plaintiff was not justified. Nevertheless	 the General Manager had directed payment of Rs. 40/ per month for the period from 1 7 1949 to 31 5 1951 for the extra work done by the plaintiff in addition to his duties as Assistant Office Superintendent. The jurisdiction of the Court to question the reversion from a merely officiating post was challenged. Furthermore	 it was alleged that the plaintiff had. knowledge of the dismissal of his appeal as he was working in the office of the General Manager as Assistant Office Superintendent. The plea of limitation was also raised in defence. The Trial Court	 while dismissing the suit in toto had held that the suit was maintainable. This finding was upheld by the High Court on the plaintiff 's appeal which was allowed only to the extent that Rs. 180/ was decreed as within time as the suit for the remaining arrears of salary was held barred by Article 102 of of 1908. The Trial Court had denied any declaration to the plaintiff	 but the High Court had decreed the suit for declaration in the following terms : "The suit	 therefore	 is also decreed for the declaration that the plaintiff	 on being superannuated	 became entitled to get gratuity and pension	 as admissible under the service rules applicable to the case	 on the basis that he retired as Office Superintendent in the grade of Rs. 360/5001 . It would	 of course	 now be open to the plaintiff to move the Authorities concerned for gratuity and pension in accordance with the declaratory decree passed by this Court in his favour". As regards the enquiry subsequently held with regard to the plaintiff 's grievance	 the Trial Court held that it could not take the place of fullfledged enquiry to which the appellant was entitled under section 240 cl. 3 of the Govt. of India Act and the procedural safeguards in a disciplinary action. It	 therefore	 held that the order of demotion passed against the appellant on 29 6 1949 was illegal. The High Court had	 on the plaintiff 's appeal	 after considering the evidence	 held : "Therefore	 the order of reversion	 which had been passed really as a penal measure	 cannot be held to be valid. The inevitable consequence of this finding would be that plaintiff was and remained legally entitled to hold the post of office Superintendent and as such to receive the salary etc. payable for that post until he retired. In this view of the matter	 the relief for declaration	 in the circumstances of the case	 was redundant and not an essential prerequisite to his claim for recovery of salary etc. attached to that post	 provided	 of course	 the claim was not barred under article 102 of the ". 489 The Trial Court had held that the order keeping the post of an Office Superintendent in abeyance being administrative in nature could not be questioned in a civil suit. But	 the High Court held: "The overall position	 therefore	 appears to be that the order of abeyance was not in reality a bona fide administrative order pure and simple but it was a device to obviate the difficulties which would otherwise have been created by the order of reversion	 itself as	 in the absence of an order of punishment duly passed	 the plaintiff would have a right to revert to the post of the Office Superintendent. In the instant case	 from the evidence on record and the relevant circumstances	 it clearly appears that the alleged order of abeyance of the post of the Office Superintendent had resulted in definite prejudice and loss to the plaintiff. In the circumstances of the case	 in our opinion	 the suit was legally maintainable and the decision of the Court below to the contrary is erroneous". it	 therefore	 appears to us that the High Court had taken in view that the action against the appellant	 being penal and violative of the constitutional protection afforded by Section 240(3) Govt. of India Act	 was void	 and	 therefore	 could be ignored as "non est". Similarly	 the order abolishing the post of Office Superintendent	 having been passed with an oblique motive	 was not a bonafide order so that. it could be ignored. Even administrative action	 to be valid	 has to be honest and bonafide. On these findings	 the High Court appears to us to have been justified in giving the declaration it did give. The only question of some difficulty raised before us is whether Article 102 or Article 120 of the of 1908 would apply to the case. After having heard the attractive arguments of Mr. Yogeshwar Prasad	 we have no doubt that a good deal can be said in favour of the contention that a claim for arrears of salary is distinguishable: from a claim for wages. But	 our difficulty is that the question appears to us to be no longer open for consideration afresh by us	 or	 at any rate	 it is not advisable to review the authorities of this Court	 after such a lapse of time when	 despite the view taken by this Court that Article 102 of the of 1908 was applicable to such cases	 the of 1963 had been passed repeating the law	 contained in Articles 102 and 120 of the of 1908	 in identical terms without any modification. The Legislature must be presumed to be cognizant of the view of	 this Court that a claim of the nature before us	 for arrears of salary	 falls within the purview of Article 102 of the of 1908. If Parliament	 which is deemed to be aware of the declaration of law by this Court	 did not alter the law	 it must be deemed to have accepted the interpretation of this Court even though the correctness of it may be open to doubt. If doubts had arisen	 it was for the Legislature to clear these doubts. When the Legislature has not done so	 despite the repeal of the of 1908	 and the enactment of the of 1963 after the decisions of this Court	 embodying a possible questionable view	 we think it is expedient and proper to 490 over rule the submission made on behalf of the appellant that the correctness of the view adopted by this Court in its decisions on the question so far should be reexamined by a larger Bench. This Court	 in Shri Madhav Laxman Vaikunthe V. The State of Mysore (1)	 following the case of the Punjab Province V. Pandit Tarachand (2)	 had held that Article 102 of 1908 will apply to such a case. It reiterated this view in Jai Chand Sawhney V. Union of India(3)	 and	 again in State of Andhra Pradesh V. Kutubuddin(4). Furthermore	 the finding that the plaintiff had knowledge of the disposal of his appeal by the Railway Board in 1954 is one of fact. Even if this be a finding which is assailable	 we do not consider it to be baseless. We do not	 therefore	 propose to enter into evidence for the purpose of determining the correctness of this finding for ourselves. If this finding is correct	 as we are assuming it to be	 a suit filed on 27 11 1962 will be barred by time even if Article 120 of the were to be applied. Six years ' period of limitation would have expired long before 1962	 even if time were to begin to run	 as is submitted on behalf of the appellant	 from the time the appellant became aware of the decision of the Railway Board. The appellant 's contention	 however	 is that	 even if suit was barred by time	 he would get three years more of arrears of salary as within time if Article 120 (instead of Article 102) of 1908 was applied and each failure to pay the monthly salary due constituted a fresh cause of action. We cannot accept this view as we have	 for reasons already given	 held that article 102 of the Limitation Act	 1908	 was correctly applied. We think that the High Court was right in treating the order of reversion passed against the petitioner to be void and inoperative	 or "non est"	 The result was that no declaration was needed for the purpose of enforcing a claim which fell within 3 years . Consequently	 only the amount which fell within three years of the suit filed could be decreed. So far as the remaining part of the declaration is concerned the amount claimable by reason of it would depend upon the rate at which the plaintiff would have been entitled to draw his salary if he had occupied the post which he should have held when he retired. It has to be	 therefore	 determined what would be the arrears of pension and gratuity to which the plaintiff would have been entitled if he had held the post of Office Superintendent to which he was entitled. We have been informed by the learned Counsel for the North Eastern Railway that as the appellant was entitled	 on the finding of the High Court to hold the post of an Office Superintendent	 he could draw a salary in the scale from Rs. 450 to Rs. 575 with effect from 1 7 1959. (1) [1962] 1 S.C.R. p. 886 at 894. (2) 	 93	 108. (3) [1969] (III) S.C.C. p. 642. (4) Civil Appeal No. 2289 of 1966 decided on 8 10 1969. 491 Before parting with the case we may observe that on the findings of the High Court about the correctness of which we have no doubt	 the appellant was not treated justly. He was even denied promotion due to an order which was not a bonafide one inasmuch as its object was to deprive the appellant of the rights he would have otherwise enjoyed. It is regrettable that a subordinate Govt. servant should be treated in this manner by his superior officers. We hope that	 although the claim of the appellant has been found to be barred by limitation	 the Union of India will consider the equities of the case and see its way to giving such relief to the appellant as we are precluded under the law from granting to him due to the operation of the law of limitation. The result is that we modify the decree passed by the High Court to the extent that we hold that the amount which falls due to be paid to the appellant within three years of the filing of the suit (i.e. within the period of limitation) in accordance with the above mentioned statement of the learned Counsel for the North Eastern Railway will be calculated on the correct basis now stated to us by the learned Counsel. To this extent we allow the appeal	 but we dismiss the rest of the appellant 's claim. In the circumstances of the case	 the parties will bear their own costs throughout. P.B.R. Appeal allowed in part.

The appellant	 who was Assistant Office Superintendent	 was promoted as Office Superintendent but immediately thereafter was reverted after issuing a charge sheet but without holding an enquiry. He	 however	 continued to perform the duties of Office Superintendent. A few months later charges against him were withdrawn with the remark that "no stigma was attached to him". Thereupon the appellant applied to be reinstated in the post of Office Superintendent and for payment of arrears of his salary. But his reversion order was upheld with the remark that his guilt was established. The appellant retired in 1959 and filed a suit in 1962 claiming arrears of salary and allowances and for a declaration that from the date of reversion to the date of retirement he was a Railway employee on a salary ranging from Rs. 400 to 575 and for certain other benefits. The trial court	 while dismissing the suit in toto	 had held (i) that the suit was maintainable but denied any declaration to him and (ii) that the order of demotion passed against him was illegal. The High Court decreed the suit and held that the suit for arrears of salary	 except to the extent of Rs. 180/ was barred by article 102 of the Limitation Act	 1908. The High Court further held that the action against the appellant being penal and violative of the constitutional protection afforded by section 240(3) of the Government of India Act	 1935 was void and	 therefore	 could be ignored as non est. [489F H] On the question (i) whether article 102 of the Limitation Act would apply to the case and (ii) whether a declaration was needed for enforcing a claim which fill within time. Allowing the appeal in part. HELD : (1) In Shri Madhav Laxman Vaikunthe vs The State of Mysore ; 	 which view was reiterated in two later decisions	 it was held that article 102 of the Limitation Act would apply to a case of this kind. Though a good deal can be said in favour of the contention that a claim for arrears of salary is distinguishable from a claim for wages	 the question is no longer open for consideration afresh. it is not advisable to review the authorities of this Court after such a lapse of time when	 despite the view taken by this Court that article 102 of the Limitation Act	 1908 was applicable to cases of this kind	 the Limitation Act of 1963 had been passed repeating the law	 contained in article 102 of the Limitation Act	 1908	 in identical terms without any modification. The legislature must be presumed to be cognizant of the view of this Court that a claim of the nature	 as in the instant case	 falls within the purview of article 102 of the Limitation Act	 1908. If Parliament	 which is deemed to be aware of the declarations of law by this Court	 did not alter the law it must be deemed to have accepted the interpretation of this Court even though the correctness of it may be open to doubt. It was for the legislature to clear these doubts. When the legislature has not done so despite the repeal of the Limitation Act 1908 and the enactment 1 of the after the decision of this Court it is inexpedient to reexamine the correctness of the view adopted by this Court in its decisions on the question. [489 FH] The Punjab Province V. Pandit Tarachand 	 93	 108	 Jai Chand Sawhney vs Union of India [1969](III) S.C.C: p. 642 and State of Andhra Pradesh vs Kutubuddin	civil Appeal No. 2289 of 1966 decided on 8 10 69	 referred to. (2)The High Court was right in treating the order of reversion to be void and inoperative or non est. Therefore no declaration was needed for the purpose of enforcing a claim which fell within three years. Consequently only the amount which fell within 3 years of the suit could be decreed in accordance with the statement of the counsel for the respondent. [490F] 486