( 1 ) THE petitioners in these 16 Writ Petitions were applicants for selection by the Mysore Public service commission for being appointed by the State Government as Assistant Engineers in the public Works Department of the Government. The first respondent is the State Government, and the second the Mysore Public Service Commission. Some of the petitioners are Engineering graduates seeking entry into Government Service for the first time and the others are already junior Engineers in the Public Works Department of the Government, seeking appointment as assistant Engineers by direct recruitment. None of the petitioners was selected by the Public service Commission or appointed by the Government as Assistant Engineer. All of them pray that this Court may be pleased to quash by the issue of an appropriate Writ the Notification of the State Government bearing No. P. W. D. 10 SAG 59 dated 31st October 1961, whereby the government appointed as Assistant Engineers 88 persons named therein. The said 88 persons are impleaded as respondents 3 to 90 in these Writ Petitions.

( 2 ) BEFORE formulating the points of attack against the Notification of 31st October 1961, sought to be made on behalf of the petitioners, it is necessary to narrate briefly in chronological order the events leading up to the filing of these Writ Petitions.

( 3 ) THERE are in the State of Mysore two sets of what may be described as basic Rules containing principles of general application which govern recruitment to State Civil Services, viz. , the mysore State Civil Services General Recruitment Rules, 1957, promulgated by Notification No. GAU (OM) 2 GRR 57 dated 10th February 1958, and the Mysore Public Service Commission (Functions) Rules, 1957, promulgated by Notification No. GAD (OM) 2 PSC 57 dated 12th december 1957.

( 4 ) THE General Recruitment Rules were made by the Governor of Mysore in exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution. They apply to all State Civil services except to the extent otherwise expressly provided for by or under any law for time being in force. Rule 3 of those Rules dealing with the method of recruitment states-

" recruitment to the State Civil Services shall be made by competitive examination, or by selection, or by promotion. The method of recruitment and qualifications for each State Civil service shall be as set forth in the rules of recruitment of such service specially made in that behalf. "

The recruitment in the present case was by selection. Rule 4 of the Rules deals with the procedure of appointment. The portion of that Rule which relates to recruitment by selection reads as follows:

"subject to the provisions of these rules, appointments to the State Civil Services shall be made- (1) (2) in the case of recruitment by selection, after giving such adequate publicity to the recruitment as the appointing authority may determine, in the order of merit of candidates as determined by the Commission, the Advisory or Selection Committee, or the appointing authority, as the case may be; * * * * * * * * * the rest of the Rules dealing with such topics as disqualifications for appointment, age limits for appointment, special provisions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, etc. , are not of relevance to the present case.

( 5 ) THE Public Service Commission (Functions) Rules were also made by the Governor of mysore. Though the source of the power is not cited in the relevant Notification, there can be little doubt that to the extent the Rules deal with the topic of regulating recruitment to Civil services under the State, the source of the power could only be the proviso to Article 309 of the constitution. Rule 4, among those Rules, which deals with recruitment by selection reads as follows:

"when recruitment to a service or post is to be made by selection, and consultation with the commission is required, the Commission shall-1. advise the Government in regard to the conditi