JUDGMENT

1. Leave granted in the special leave petitions.

2. These appeals have a chequered history. But it is not necessary to burden the judgment with minute details of the entire history of the case. Suffice it to state that Major Y ogendra Narain Yadav, the appellant in the main appeal, was a Short Commissioned Officer in the Army as Engineer and was appointed on April IS, 1963 and was released from the Army on October 25, 1970. Pursuant to an advertisement for appointment to a post of a temporary Asstt. Engineer made in 1973 he was selected by the Public Service Commission and was appointed to that post on July 29, 1974. The Government of Bihar had issued Circular dated June 21, 1969 in which it was stated that 30% of the posts of permanent as well as temporary Engineers were available to the demobilised Army officers and the date of entry into the State service would be the date of their attaining the age of eligibility for appointment in the military service or actual date of entry, whichever is later. Pursuant thereto, the appellant made a request by a memorandum to the Government to consider his case for permanent post available to the demobilised officers and appoint him