Judgment

KANIA, J. :- These Appeals are directed against the judgment of a Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court disposing of a number of writ petitions, being Writ Petitions Nos. 7548 of 1983, 7356 of 1984 and 10320 of 1984. Civil Appeals Nos. 2306-2308 of 1985 are filed by the State of Andhra Pradesh and others, Civil Appeals Nos. 2309-10 of 1985 are filed by the Andhra Pradesh State Scheduled Castes Welfare Association and Civil Appeals Nos. 2518-2519 of 1985 are filed by the Union of India.

2. As the controversy before us is very limited, we propose to set out only the short facts necessary for the appreciation of the contentions raised before us.

3. The Respondent No. 1, Nagam Chandrasekhara Lingam. (referred to hereinafter as "Chandrasekhara") was selected in 1981 by the Union Public Service Commission for appointment in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) against a vacancy reserved for a Scheduled Caste candidate. This was done on the basis of a social status certificate produced by him which was issued to him on October 27,1980, certifying that he belonged to the Beda Jangam Community, a Scheduled Caste. Under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Modificati