JUDGMENT :

Sanjay Kishan Kaul, J.

1. This is one more of the perennial disputes between the promotees and the direct appointees – this time to the post of the ‘Assistant Engineer (Electrical & Mechanical)’ in the U.P. Development Authorities Centralised Services. Both the set of appointments were initially made on an ad hoc basis but were subsequently confirmed. The core dispute relates to the requirement of consultation with the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (for short ‘UPPSC’) provided in Article 320(3) of the Constitution of India at the time when these ad hoc appointments were confirmed. It is the say of the direct appointees that no such consultation took place at the time when the ad hoc promotees-appointees were confirmed, in breach of a mandatory requirement and thus, their appointment is illegal. The sequitur to this is the prayer made by the direct appointees that all such promotees, even if the service were to be regularised now through a consultative process with the UPPSC, would be liable to be placed below the direct appointees.

2. The factual matrix of the