SAWANT, J.:- Leave granted.

The dispute relates to the recruitment to the statutory posts of the Welfare Officers, the appointments to which are to be made in the mines under Rule 72 of the Mines Rules. The qualifications of the candidates for the said posts are also prescribed by the said Rules.

The history of appointment of the Welfare Officers in the appellant-Company (the "Company") is relevant to be noted in this connection. In 1975, the Company issued an advertisement calling for applications for the said posts from the eligible candidates. No quota was fixed for internal candidates. The eligible candidates, both internal and external, who applied for the said posts were subjected to a common written test and the candidates were selected on the basis of merit and the rule of reservation in favour of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Thereafter in 1981, recruitment test was conducted exclusively for internal candidates without inviting applications from external candidates. In the year1985, a quota for the internal and external candidates was introduced in the ratio of 1 :1 and some internal candidates were recruited on the basis of the said quota subject of course to m