The petitioners, twenty four in number, were hitherto working as Technical Assistants under the administrative control of the District Manager, FCI, Karimnagar. It is their case that the FCI, through their circular No.24 of 1991 dated 15.10.1991, had revised the daily allowance payable to the employees; the revised daily allowance was effected in modification of the earlier circular No.4 of 1990 dated 23.02.1990; instructions were issued through circular No.12 of 1994 dated 03.03.1994, whereby the employees/non-Supervisors, while on official tour, had been announced as Assistants Grade-I and Assistants Grade-II rendering them eligible to draw a sum of Rs.200/per day when they were on tour to other places; similarly, Assistants Grade-III were rendered eligible to be paid a consolidated amount of Rs.150/-, while the remaining staff were rendered eligible to draw Rs.90/-. While matters stood thus, the Internal Audit Officer of FCI objected to the payment of composite daily allowance to the petitioners, for the period of their work at the paddy purchasing centers, on the ground that such work amounted to attending to procurement duties and, therefore, the petitioners were eligible to be paid only daily allowance, and not composite daily allowance. Based on the objection raised by the Internal Audit Officer, the Regional Office is said to have entertained a doubt, to which the Zonal Office had clarified that it was for the concerned District Manager to decide
