Judgment

BEG, J. :- The State of Mysore has come to this Court with two appeals now before us by special leave against the common judgment on two Writ Petitions which were allowed. The High Court of Mysore had quashed three State Government Notifications Nos. G. S. Rs. 384, and 592 and 305, dated 30th August, 1967, amending the Mysore State Accounts Services (Recruitment) Rules, 1959, and the promotions of Respondents 3 to 8 of Writ Petition No. 1416/67. It had directed the State of Mysore to consider the cases of the petitioners with those of Respondents 5 to 8 for promotion before it under the Mysore State Accounts Services (Recruitment) Rules 1959, made under Article 309 of the Constitution of India, notified on 26-5-1959.

2. The two petitioners before the High Court, who are respondents before us, had joined the Accounts services in the Controller s office of the former Mysore State as first and second Division Clerks. Consequent upon the abolition of the Comptroller s office, the petitioners began working as accounts Clerks under the Chief Engineer, P.W.D. On 31st October, 1955, a Divisional Accounts Cadre, in the scale of Rs. 130-335 was created by the Mysore Government under the administrative control of the Chief Engineer. Both the petitioners passed the prescribed examinations and were absorbed in the Divisional Accounts Cadre. It appears that in April, 1959, the P.W.D. Reorganisation Committee had recommended the transfer of the P.W.D. Accounts Branch in toto to the newly set up Controller of State Accounts. In accordance with this recommendation, the petitioners came under the administrative control of the Controller and the designation of their office was changed to that of "Accounts Supreintendent". On 15th May, 1959, the two formerly separate units of the Accounts service, namely the P.W.D. Accounts unit, under the Chief Engineer of P.W.D. and the Local Fund Audit unit, known also as "the State Accounts" Department came under the common administrative control of the Controller of State Accounts. On 26th May, 1959, the Mysore State Accounts Services Cadre and Recruitment Rules were issued and combined cadre strengths were fixed.

3. The High Court after examining the rules in 1959, in the context of all the orders, preceding and following the promulgation of these rules, concluded: "There cannot be the slightest doubt from these rules that a clear and complete integration was brought about between the two units". It pointed out that the qualifications and status of the officers of the formerly separate units were identical, their work was of the same nature, the recruiting authorities were the same, the standards observed and tests prescribed for entry into the formerly separate units were identical. The result of the Rules of 1959 was that an artificial distinction based on mere separate control had been abolished so that both units come under the legally single administrative control of the Accounts Department in charge of the Controller of State Accounts. The petitioners became absorbed in what was legally a single permanent service regulated by uniform rules.

4. After examining the cases of the petitioners that, in the matter of promotions, they were discriminated against simply because they had worked in the P.W.D. Accounts unit, which had ceased to exist, the High Court held that the petitioners grievances were justified. If found that figures showing the number of appointments of members of the same service derived from the formerly separate units indicated "a striking disparity in the promotional opportunities between the officers of the two wings in the same cadres". It said: "while the Rules of 1959 integrated the two wings into one service and provided for promotion on the basis of seniority-cum-merit, the impugned Notifications fixing up the cadre strengths reduce the number of promotional posts available to the Public Works Accounts Unit to a very low figure as compared with the promotional opportu