Judgment

ORDER - These two contempt petitions are filed by the Deputy Executive Engineers who were appointed to the said posts directly during the period 31-12-1982 to 31-12-1987. According to the petitioners in Contempt Petition No. 294 of 1992, the respondent-Goverment has committed a breach of the directions given by this Court in its decision dated 24-2-1988 in K. Siva Reddy v. State of Andhra Pradesh, (1988) 3 SCR 18 : (AIR 1988 SC 860). (Writ Petitions Nos. 17165-68 of 1984) (hereinafter referred to as Siva Reddys case). The contention is that as per the directions given in that decision, the State Government was required to regulate and adjust the appointments made in the vacancies of Deputy Executive Engineers from 31-12-1982 to 31-12-1987 according to the quota of recruitment prescribed in the 1965 Rules, viz., 371/2 per cent direct recruits and 621/2 per cent promotees and give them deemed dates of seniority worked out on the basis of the said quota, right from the inception when the 1965 Rules came into operation. However, this extreme contention was not advanced by Shri Chidambaram appearing for the petitioners in Contempt Petition No. 63 of 1993. According to him, the G