JUDGMENT

Ruma Pal, J.-The appellants and the respondent No. 1 are all Executive Engineers in the Public Health Engineering Department of the Government of Manipur. All the appellants had Degrees in Engineering before they joined service. The respondent No. 1 obtained a Diploma in 1989 having duly qualified in both sections of the Associate Membership Examination of the Institution of Engineers (AMIE). It is not in dispute that the AMIE Diploma is recognised by the Central Government as being on par with a Bachelor s Degree of Engineering for the purpose of recruitment to superior posts under the Central Government. The question is whether the respondent No. 1 was eligible to be considered for promotion to the post of Superintending Engineer in 1991.

2. The Rules regulating the recruitment to the post of Superintending Engineers of the State of Manipur were notified on 18th October 1977. The Rules called The Manipur P.W.D./Irrigation and Flood Control/Public Health Engineering (Superintending Engineer (Civil/Superintending Surveyor of Works) Recruitment Rules, 1977 provide that the post of Superintending Engineer shall be filled up by promotion from "Executive Engineer (Civil)/ (Mec