Judgment

MITTER, J. : These are two appeals from a common judgment and order of the High Court of Mysore covering a number of Writ Petitions filed in that Court on special leave granted by this Court.

2. The appellants are two out of a total number of 43 persons who filed separate petitions under Art. 226 of the Constitution before the Mysore High Court on October, l, 1964. The main prayer in all the petitions was that a writ of mandamus should be issued commanding the State of Mysore to promote each petitioner to the cadre of Assistant Engineers from the date on which the petitioner was placed in charge of a sub-division with all consequential benefits. To put in short, the demand of the petitioners was that they should all receive benefits which others promoted before and after them had received. According to the petitions, some of these persons had received such benefits before the petitioners and some had been accorded similar advantages although they were promoted as Assistant Engineers long after the petitioners, but the State of Mysore had, without any reason, declined to give similar benefits to the petitioners.

3. The facts as they emerge from the affidavits and the documents referred to therein are as follows. The State of Mysore, before the Reorganisation of States Act l956, used to employ engineering graduates for a long time past designating them as surveyors. The State had another cadre of engineers know as Assistant Engineers. Surveyors who were posted as officers in Charge of sub-divisions were from time to time promoted to the cadre of Assistant Engineers. Between March 24, 1944 and December 15, 1944, a batch of 27 surveyors were placed in charge of different subdivisions in the State. This bewitch was promoted to the cadre of Assistant Engineers with effect from May 21, 1945. Another batch of officers who were placed in charge of sub-divisions between May 11, 1945 and January 2, l946 were similarly promoted with effect from January 17, 1947. By a notification dated May 17, 1950 the Government of Mysore decided to give all these 41 persons the benefit of promotion as Assistant Engineers with effect from the dates of occurrence of vacancies according to seniority. They were further to have the benefit of the grant of initial pay with weightage from October 1, 1948 in the revised scale of pay. The petitioners comprising a batch of 63 surveyors were placed in charge of sub-divisions on diverse dates between December 28, 1945 and November 13, 1949. With regard to most of these the Chief Engineer of the State recommended to the Government of Mysore that they should be promoted as Assistant Engineers with retrospective effect from the dates they were placed in charge of subdivisions. By a letter dated December 5, 1948 addressed by the Secretary to the Government of Mysore to the Chief Engineer, the latter was requested to post most of this batch of surveyors including one Siddaveerappa in charge of sub-divisions as shown in the accompanying statement pending issue of orders on the question of filling up vacancies existing in the Assistant Engineers cadre. By notification dated December 21, 1949 these 63 persons were directed to be promoted as temporary Assistant Engineers in the Public Works Department against existing vacancies. On the same date, the Chief Engineer was requested to forward to Govermnent an allocation statement showing the vacancies against which the newly promoted Assistant Engineers were counted, the dates from which the posts were vacant and the dates on which they had been in charge of subdivisions. On March 7, 1950 the Chief Engineer by his communication No. l839-40 Est. supplied particulars to Government of the dates on which each of these 63 persons had assumed charge of a sub-division. On September 28, 1953, the Chief Engineer addressed D. O. letters to all the 63 Assistant Engineers for particulars of dates on which each of them had taken such charge. This was complied with by all the address