JUDGMENT

DUTT, J. :— In this writ petition, the petitioners have prayed for several reliefs. This Court, however, while issuing notice limited the scope of the writ petition only to the question of grant of Selection Grades and Super-Time Scales to the petitioners.

2. Of the two petitioners, the petitioner No. 1 is the Special Judge, Meerut, and the petitioner No. 2 is the Additional Sessions Judge, Muzaffarnagar, State of Uttar Pradesh.

3. Initially, the petitioners and 8 others were appointed Judicial Magistrates in the Cadre of Judicial Officers sometime in June, 1957 on the basis of the Combined Civil Services Competitive Examination held for the recruitment of 10 Judicial Officers and 35 Munsifs who were appointed in July, 1957.

4. The Judicial Officers including the petitioners recruited along with 35 Munsifs on the basis of the said Combined Civil Services Competitive Examination, did not belong to the Judicial Service. While the Munsifs had a definite channel of promotion up to the position of the District and Sessions Judges, the petitioners who were in the Cadre of Judicial Officers had no such promotional opportunity.

5. By a Government notification dated September 30, 1967, the Judicial Officers were for the first time brought within the administrative control of the high Court with effect from October 2, 1967. In other words, the Judicial Officers were brought within the ambit of Judicial Service of the State under the control of the High Court.

6. By another notification dated March 12, 1975 issued in supersession of the said notification dated September 30, 1967, the Government of U. P. constituted a Judicial Service with the members of the U. P.Judicial Officers Service to fill in the posts of Additional Sessions Judges. It was directed in the notification that the U. P. Judicial Officers Service would be a service distinct and separate from the U. P. Civil Services (Judicial Branch).

7. The petitioners were appointed in the Higher Judicial Service by way of promotion to the posts of Additional Sessions judges on December 12, 1979 and were confirmed in those posts with effect from January 1, 1980.

8. In view of the unamended Rule 27 of the U. P. Higher Judicial Service Rules, 1975, hereinafter referred to as "the Rules", only the District Judges were eligible for appointment to the Selection Grade posts. The Additional Sessions Judges and the Additional District Judges were not eligible for the Selection Grade posts. It was only by virtue of the Government order dated January 1, 1962 that 15% of the posts were available for the Higher Judicial Service for Selection Grades in the scale of Rs. 2300-2700 with effect from July 1, 1979. Thus, out of the sanctioned strength of 339 posts, 51 posts were available for Selection Grade. But these 51 Selection Grade posts were available only to the District Judges.

9. Now, we may refer to an important step taken by the U. P. Government by issuing an order dated January 17, 1984 which, inter alia, provided for the appointment of the Additional Sessions Judges to Selection Grade posts. The relevant part of the said Government order dated January 17, 1984 is extracted below: -

"The Governor has been pleased to pass orders that since 1-11-1983, the Selection Grade in U. P. Higher Judicial Service Cadre be sanctioned by increasing it from 15 per cent to 20 per cent. In consequence thereof, there will be available 17 additional posts in the Selection Grade of 2300-100-2700, meaning thereby that since after 1-11-1983, the number of posts of Selection Grade will increase up to 68, but there will be no increase in the total number of the posts of the cadre. At present according to the rules the Selection Grade is permissible only to the District and Sessions Judges. Consequent on the aforesaid increase in the percentage of Selection Grade, since after 1-11-1983 the Selection Grade will be permissible to other members of Higher Judicial Service including the Additional Sessions Judges, subje