JUDGMENT

A. K. Patnaik, J.

These are the appeals against the common judgment dated 20.03.2009 of the Delhi High Court in Writ Petition (Civil) Nos. 7526 of 2008, 7521 of 2008 and 7523 of 2008 (for short ‘the impugned judgment’).

2. The facts very briefly are that the Government of India, Ministry of Law and Justice, Department of Legal Affairs, by advertisement dated 22.01.2005 invited applications for 9 vacancies in the post of Judicial Member and 13 vacancies in the post of Accountant Member in the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. The advertisement, however, stated that the number of vacancies indicated in the advertisement was only approximate and was liable to increase or decrease due to unexpected circumstances that may occur upto 31.12.2005. On 07.09.2005, one more vacancy arose in the post of Accountant Member of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal and this took the total number of vacancies in the post of Accountant Member to 14. Against the 9 vacancies in the post of Judicial Member and 14 vacancies in the post of Accountant Member, the Selection Board in its recommendations placed 18 candidates in the main select list, 7 candidates for the post of Judicial Member and 11 candi