S.S. Shinde, J.

1. Rule. Rule made returnable forthwith. By consent of the learned counsel appearing for the respective parties, heard finally.

2. The brief facts leading for filing the present Petition, disclosed in the memo of Petition, are as under:

(a) By the instant petition the petitioners are seeking directions against the respondent no. 1 to 4 herein to grant the benefits of Career Advancement Scheme to the petitioners by considering the petitioners' earlier services.

(b) In the year 1995, by following due process of law, the petitioners have been appointed as lecturers in their respective subjects. The petitioners have been appointed by duly selection committee and the said appointments have been approved by the respondent no.4 University. At the time of appointment of the petitioners, the NET/SET qualification was not essential and the same was made compulsory w.e.f. 04.04.2000. That apart, at the relevant time, the candidates of having NET/SET qualification were not available. Therefore, the candidates who were having the requisite qualification except NET/SET were appointed.

(c) In the year 1999-2000, after appointment, the petitioner no.1 passed NET exam in Decem