JUDGMENT

RANGANATH MISRA, J.

(1) PROMOTEE Engineers of the Roads & Buildings Wing of the Andhra Pradesh Engineering Service are the petitioners in this application under Article 32 of the Constitution and challenge is to the government circular of 12/08/1988 (Annexure A) fixing the guideline tor the drawing up of the seniority list pursuant to a direction issued by this court in a batch of writ petitions, decision whereof is reported in K. Siva Reddy v. State of A.P.

(2) WHILE petitioners are promotees, the respondents are direct recruits. Petitioners allege that they had put in continuous service of 6-7 years by 1982 and their services having been regularised in the post of Deputy Executive Engineer in the year 1974-75, direct recruits appointed in the year 1982 cannot under any law be placed above them.

(3) AS noticed in Siva Reddy case , substantive vacancies in the category of Assistant Engineers had to be filled up from two sources - 37 1/2 per cent by direct recruitment and the remaining 62 1/2 per cent by transfer of Supervisors and Draughtsmen and by promotion of Junior Engineers. Direct recruits had complained that notwithstanding this prescription, th