S.B.Sinha, J.

1. The petitioner by way of this application under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India prays for issuance of an appropriate writ for quashing an order dated 18-6-1990, as contained in Annexure-2 to the writ application whereby his prayer to rank him in the seniority list of the Forester has been finally rejected.

2. The basic facts of the case are admitted. The petitioner and the respondent Nos. 11 to 13 were appointed in the posts of Forest Guard on 5-5-1973, 24-4-1974, 24-1-1974, and 5-9-1974 respectively.

3. According to the petitioner, the posts of Forester and Forest Guard belong to one cadre being that of the subordinate forest service and are governed by Clause 3.19 of the Bihar Forest Manual, which read as follows: The Subordinate Forest Service comprises of:

(i) Forest Rangers,

(ii) Foresters,

(iii) Forest Guards.

(iv) Other subordinates, namely, Surveyor, Amin, Marking Officer, Felling Observer, Depot Officer, Coupe Overseer, Mines Muharrir, Naka Guard etc.

4. It is further the case of the petitioner that appointment to the post of Forester is governed by Clause 3.21 thereof.

The petitioner contended that the authorities of the State of