( 1 ) THE petitioners 1 to 3 are presently serving as Seed Officers in the establishment of the Andhra Pradesh State Seeds Corporation Limited, the first respondent herein. In this writ petition they have sought for a writ in the nature of mandamus directing the respondent No. 1 to refix the seniority of the petitioners in the category of Seed Officers placing their names over and above that of the respondents 2 to 15.

( 2 ) THE relevant facts leading to the filing of this writ petition be stated briefly as under: the first respondent-Corporation called for applications from the eligible candidates to fill up the posts in the cadre of Seed Officers. The Corporation after going through the necessary selection process, appointed the petitioners as Seed Officers by proceedings dated 26-11-1984. The petitioners 1 to 3 joined duty on 7-1-1985, 12-12-1984 and 10-12-1984 respectively. Under the terms of appointment, the petitioners had to undergo probation for a period of one year within a span of two years. Before the petitioners joined the services of the corporation, the respondents 2 to 15 were serving in the Corporation as technical Assistants on daily wage basis. It s