( 1 ) ON the 1st of November 1966, the petitioners in these eleven writ petitions held substantive position of Assistant Conservators of. Forests in the erstwhile State of Mysore and stood allotted as such to the new State of Mysore under S. 115 of the States Reorganisation Act. They challenge the equation of posts made for the purpose or the final Inter-State Seniority list of Gazetted Officers in the Forest Department and published in the mysore Gazette Extraordinary dated the 9th of May 1969, particularly the rejection of their case for equation of their posts with those of Deputy conservator of Forests of the erstwhile States of Bombay and Hyderabad and their inclusion in category IV along with Sub-Assistant Conservators of Forests of the erstwhile State of Mysore.

( 2 ) THIS litigation has had a fairly long history and a reference to the salient features thereof is necessary for a disposal of the present writ petitions.

( 3 ) THE Provisional Inter-State Seniority list was published by the state Government in 1957 by notification dated 26th March 1957. In the said list the equations were as follows: (I) Conservator of Forests, Mysore. Conservator of Forests,