(1) THE direct recruits to the posts of Deputy Executive Engineer in the Department of Irrigation, State of Andhra Pradesh, are the petitioners assailing the principles on which the inter se seniority between them and the promotees has been determined.

(2) THE main plank of the arguments advanced by Mr. Subramaniam, the learned senior counsel and M. L. Nageshwar Rao, learned counsel appearing for the petitioners in support of their claim is that, by the judgment of this Court what was protected in respect of those promotees prior to 31/12/1982 is the factum of promotion even though that might have been in excess of the quota as provided under the Statutory Recruitment Rules but not their seniority and, according to the learned counsel, if a person has been appointed beyond the quota provided under the Statutory Rules, then by compassion his promotion may not be disturbed, but by no stretch of imagination, he can get seniority also on that score. In support of this contention, a number of decisions of this Court have been placed before us starting from K.R. Prasad and Ors. v. B. Rosain & Ors., C. Radhakrishna Reddy v. State of A.P., D. Hanmanth Rao & Ors. v. State of