Judgment

DESAI, J. :- We are back to square one. The same rigmarole of unending disputes as to inter se seniority between promotees, direct recruits and recruits. as per the result of the limited competitive examination with quota-rota as the guiding star for determining inter se seniority are put in the lap of the Court.

2. This time the service is the Indian Foreign Service Branch B (IFS B for short), This services was constituted by, the memorandum of Govt. of India, Ministry of External Affairs dated July 16, 1956. The service consisted of two cadres; a general cadre and two sub-cadres (1) Stenographer sub-cadre and (2) Cypher sub-cadre forming. what is styled as special cadre. The general cadre comprises 6 grades. Various provisions were made in the Memorandum for recruitment to various grades. Para V provided for general conditions of eligibility for appointment in the service at the initial constitution. Para VI provided that recruitment to Grades I, II mid III of the general cadre will be made on the recommendations of the Senior Selection Board of which the Chairman will be the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission or his nominee. Selection to other grades will be made by the Junior Selection Board in consultation with Union Public Service Commission. Para VIII provided for inter se seniority of person selected for Grades I, II and III of the general cadre. Appendix to the Memorandum sets out sanctioned strength of posts in various grades of IFS B and the scales of pay attached to each grade.

3. Petitioners were selected by the Union Public Service Commission according to the merits obtained at the examination conducted for the purpose in 1955 for appointment to the post of Assistant, and were allocated to the Ministry. of External Affairs. After the initial constitution of the service in 1956 petitioners were offered an option whether they would like to join IFS B in Grade IV at the time of its initial constitution. The memorandum constituting the service provided that future maintenance of the service would be governed by the rules to be promulgated for the purpose by the Central Government. Accordingly by its notification dated May 6, 1964, the Govt. of India, Ministry of External Affairs in exercise of all the powers conferred. by Article 309, promulgated Indian Foreign Service Branch B (Recruitment, Cadre; Seniority, and Promotion) Rules, 1964 (1964 Rules for short). By the aforementioned rules, Grades II and III were integrated and the grade was styled as integrated Grades II and III in general cadre.

4. Petitioners came to be, promoted between 1976-1979 from Grade IV to integrated Grades It and III. The Government of India published a seniority list of officers in the integrated Grades II And III of the general cadre of IFS B as on June 25, 1979. Petitioners contend that the seniority list is violative of the constitutionally guaranteed equality of opportunity in the matter of public service in as much as direct recruits who came into service long after the departmental promotees were regularly promoted to the aforementioned grade have been assigned seniority over the earlier promoted departmental promotees. Before objections taken by the petitioners to the seniority list were dealt with the Central Govt. in supersession of seniority list dated June 25, 1979 published another seniority list of the officers in integrated Grades II and III of IFS B as on June 30, 1983. Petitioners contend that the seniority list dated June 30 1983 suffers from the same vice and is all the more objectionable in as much as it leaves blank spaces for future recruits either as direct recruits or by limited departmental examination and who are yet to come into service to be placed over promotees like the petitioners who have already been in service for a long time. The petitioners contend that the impugned seniority list appears to have been drawn up on the principle of quota rota and that in the facts of this case and the rel