S.N.Jha, J.

1. The dispute in these four writ petitions on behalf of sole petitioner each relates to appointment/promotion on the post of Assistant Conservator of Forests in the Bihar Forest Service. The dispute being common they have been heard together and disposed of by this common judgment.

2. The petitioners are aggrieved by the notification dated 19.12.98 by which the earlier notification promoting them to the post of Assistant Conservator of Forests has been cancelled and they have been reverted to the post of Range Officer of Forests. They also seek a consequential direction upon the respondents to consider their case for promotion to the post of Assistant Conservator of Forests. In CWJC No. 4072/99 the petitioner further seeks direction to amend the relevant provisions of the Bihar Forest Service Rules, 1953 (for short, "the Rules").

3. The representative facts may be noticed from CWJC No. 81/99 as follows. The petitioner was selected for the post of flange Officer of Forests by the Bihar Public Service Commission and appointed to the post on 26.3.84. He was sent for one years Rangers training at the Central Forest Rangers College, Chandrapura, State of Maharashtra, which he joined on 2.4.84. He completed the course with Honours standing first in his batch on 23.2.85. He was awarded gold medal for securing highest marks with Honours and, also, silver medal for securing highest marks in range administration and another silver medal for securing highest marks in forest training. On completion of the training and passing the course he joined the office of the Chief Conservator of Forests, Bihar on 26.2.85 and posted as Forest Ranger in Patna Division. Further case of the petitioner is that on 27.3.85 he was recommended for admission to the second year of the two years State Forests Service course at the State Forests Service College, Dehradun against the seat allotted to the State of Bihar. On 1.4.85, he joined the College. On 31.3.86 he was awarded diploma by the said College. He in fact topped the merit list. In terms of Rule 3 (b)(i) of the Rules on 4.4.86 in anticipation of the approval of the Conservator he was posted as Assistant Conservator of Forests, Magadh Circle, Patna. The petitioner continued on the post pending completion of the formalities at the government level. On 10.11.86 the Department requested the Bihar Public Service Commission to accord its concurrence in the appointment/ promtion as Assistant Conservator of Forests from the date of his joining. Meanwhile Clause (aa) was inserted in Rule 3 of the Rules on 26.12.89 providing for promotion of Range Officers of Forests acquiring Honours in the rangers course and passing the State forests service course as Assistant Conservator of Forests treating them as direct recruits in the Bihar Forest Service. Thus on 9.3.90 the petitioner was appointed as a direct recruit to the post of Assistant Conservator of Forests under Rule 3(aa) with effect from 30.8.85, the date when Rule 29 of the Rules was amended. It is relevant to mention here that the amendment inserting Clause (aa) in Rule 3 was given a retrospective effect by providing that the Clause "shall be inserted and shall be deemed always to have been inserted". Writ petitions were filed challenging different appointments/promotions including that of petitioners on the post of Assistant Conservator of Forests, such as CWJC No. 1634/86(R) before this Court. Pursuant to an interim order dated 11.8.87 passed in that case the petitioner was reverted to the post of Range Officer of Forests on 12.12.91. The petitioner filed CWJC No. 9226/91 wherein on 17.1.92 order of status quo was passed. Pursuant to the said order on 21.3.92 the post of Assistant Conservator of Forests was restored to him. The aforesaid writ petitions were finally disposed of on 9.2.96 [reported in 1996 (1) All PLR 425, titled Shyam Bihari Prasad V/s. Union of India]. While upholding Rule 3(aa), of the Rules this Court set aside the