Judgment

Arijit Pasayat, J.—Leave granted.

2. These appeals are directed against the judgment rendered by a Division Bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court holding that the appointment of three doctors, namely, Dr. Muzaffar Jan, Dr. Ghulam Rasool Wani and Dr. Ghanshyam Saini-the appellants in the civil appeals corresponding to SLP (C) Nos. 21954-21955 of 2003 to be illegal. They are also private respondents in the appeals filed by the State of Jammu and Kashmir, and Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (in short the ‘PSC’).

Backgrounds facts in a nutshell are as follows: ­

3. An advertisement was issued on 12.10.1998 by the State inviting applications for appointment as lectures in Paediatrics in the Medical Education Department of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Before that date four persons had been granted ad-hoc promotion as Assistant Professors. Such promotion was subject to approval by the PSC. On 23.10.1998 PSC accorded approval to the promotion of the four lecturers as Assistant Professors.

4. In response to the advertisement, several persons had applied. Dr. Sanjeev Kumar and Dr. Arun Gandotra (the writ petitioners before the High Court) had also applied. Since they