JUDGMENT

RAY, J. :— These two appeals were filed against the common judgment and order dated 29th July, 1978 made by the Division Bench of the High Court at Patna in C.W.J.C. No. 756 of 1977 whereby the High Court quashed the orders of the Government contained in Annexures 8, 9 and 10 to the writ petition. The facts unfurled from the writ petition are as follows:-

The respondents Nos. 1 to 5 in these appeals (the petitioners in the writ petition) were directly appointed in the Bihar Engineering Service Class II as Assistant Engineers of the Irrigation Department on the recommendation of Bihar Public Service Commission and were posted in River Valley Project in 1961. The respondents Nos. 6 to 23 in C. A. No. 232 of 1978 (who are appellants in C.A. No. 233 of 1978 and respondents Nos. 5 to 22 in the writ petition) were working at that time as Overseers in the Bihar Subordinate Engineering Service (Irrigation Department). On 7th April, 1958 the Governor took a decision under rule 2 of the Public Works Department Code that 25% of the posts in the Bihar Engineering Service, Class II shall be filled up by promotion, subject to availability of suitable hands. Thus, out of the total vacanci