JUDGMENT

VENKATARAMIAH, J.:— The appellant is a judicial officer of the State of Madhya Pradesh, who would have ordinarily retired on January 31, 1984 on attaining 58 years of age. He was appointed as a Munsiff-Magistrate in the erstwhile State of Bhopal in 1953. On reorganisation of States on November, 1, 1956, he became a member of the Judicial Service of the State of Madhya Pradesh. He was promoted as an Additional District & Sessions Judge on January 1974 and was confirmed in that post with effect from November 25, 1974. consequent upon the decision of the State Government to reorganise the Higher Judicial Service of the State of Madhya Pradesh in accordance with the advice of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh, 101 posts of the cadre of Additional District & Sessions Judges came to be abolished and the incumbents of those posts were to be absorbed as District & Sessions Judges as per Government Memorandum dated February 24, 1981. On the issue of the said Memorandum, the High Court of Madhya Pradesh decided to screen the officers in the cadre of Additional District & Sessions Judges for the purpose of making recommendation to the State Government about the promotion of, selected