Judgment

RANGANATH MISRA, J.:- Petitioners in these applications under Art. 32 of the Constitution belong to the cadre of Section Officers in the Central Secretariat Service (Service for short). They challenge the combined seniority list of all the Section Officers belonging to the service and have asked for a direction that the select list in Grade I of the Service be recast. They have also asked for a further direction that some of the direct recruits included in the eligibility list of Section Officers shown in Annexure PI should be omitted from it and a direction should issue from the Court to appoint promotees to Grade I with effect from the date on which junior directly recruited Section Officers have been appointed to Grade I. They have further assailed the vires of the note below Rule 12. R. 13(5) and Regulation 3(3) of the Fourth Schedule as being ultra vires Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. According to the petitioners the seniority between the direct recruits and promotees in the grade of Section Officers has to be fixed, on the basis of length of service in the grade and not by the process envisaged under the Rules and the relevant Regulations.

2. The respondents h