N. P. Singh, J.

1. The appointment of respondent Nos.5 to 88 (hereinafter referred to as the respondents) as Munsif in the Bihar Judicial Service has been challenged on behalf of the petitioners on the ground that they did not fulfill the criteria laid down by the Bihar Judicial Service (Recruitment) Rules, 1955 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules ).

2. The respondents have been appointed by the State Government by a notification dated 28-10-1986 on the recommendation of the Bihar Public Service commission (hereinafter referred to as the Commission) on the basis of the result of the 21st Judicial Service Competitive Examination. According to the petitioner as the respondents did not produce certificates from the Registrar of the high Court of Judicature at Patna (hereinafter referred to as the Patna High court) or from the District Judges of the districts in the State of Bihar, that they were practitioners at the Bar of at least one years continuous standing, on the date of advertisement, their applications should not have been entertained by the commission in view of Rule 6 (c) of the Rules. It may be pointed out that there is no dispute that the respondents were not pra