The petitioner, Dr, C.M. Srivastava, is a member of the Bihar Health Service and is currently employed as a Tutor in the Patna Dental College. He has filed this application under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution for issue of an appropriate writ to quash the appointment of Dr. Hajendra Ram (respondent no. 5), another member of the Bihar Health Service, to the post of a Lecturer in the same college. He has further prayed that certain ORDER :s of the State Government rejecting the representations made by the petitioner in connection with his claim to the same post should be quashed and a mandamus should issue directing the State of Bihar (respondent no. 1) in the Department of Health to make the appointment in accordance with law.

2. At the time when the present writ application was filed, namely on the 19th April, 1968, respondent no. 5 was holding the post of a Lecturer in the said college on an officiating basis, in a leave vacancy, by virtue of an ORDER :of the State Government dated the 25th January, 1968, a copy of which is Annexure “9” to the writ application. But subsequent to the filing of the writ application, the State Government issued another notification dated the 25th June, 1968. a copy of which is Annexure “22”, appointing the 5th respondent to a substantive post of Lecturer in the same college to fill a regular vacancy created on account of the promotion of another Lecturer one Dr. R.P. Singh, (Sic) to the rank of a Professor in the same college. The notification relating to the substantive appointment of Dr. Rajendra Ram as aforesaid was published in the Bihar Gazette on the 10th July, 1968, and it was mentioned therein that the appointment of Dr. Ram to the substantive post of Lecturer in the Dental College was made with effect from the 25th January, 1968. Thereupon the petitioner filed an application on the 18th July. 1968, for amendment of the writ petition and challenging the aforesaid ORDER :of Dr. Rajendra Ram's substantive appointment, as also the retrospective character of the said a appointment, as ultra vires, illegal and mala fide and beyond the competence of the State Government to make such an appointment. The writ petition was amended as prayed for under an ORDER :of this Court dated the 3rd February, 1969. In substance, therefore, this is now an application for quashing the notification of the 25th June, 1968 (Annexure “22”) relating to the substantive appointment of respond. dent no. 5 as well as two other ORDER :s of the State Government; one dated the 25th January, 1968, contained in Annexure “12”), and the other dated the 6th March, 1968, contained in Annexure “18” rejecting certain representations of the petitioner, to which reference will be made in due course.

3. Besides the State of Bihar, which is respondent no. 1, and Dr. Rajendra Ram, who is respondent no. 5, the other respondents to this writ application are (i) the Secretary of the Health Department, Government of Bihar, (ii) the Director of Health Services, Bihar, and (iii) the Principal of Patna Dental College, who are respectively respondents 2, 3 and 4.

4. In pursuance of the rule issued by this Court, the State of Bihar has appeared and filed a counter affidavit and cause has been shown on its behalf by the learned Advocate General. Respondent no. 5 has also shown cause both by means of an affidavit as well as through Mr. J.C. Sinha, who appeared before us on his behalf. Some more supplementary affidavits and affidavits in reply have been filed by the parties in this application by way of supplementing their respective pleadings, to which reference will be made only wherever necessary.

5. At the outset I propose to mention certain facts, in regard to which there is no dispute before us. The petitioner joined the Dental College and Hospital at Lucknow in August, 1949 and obtained a Degree of Bachelor in Dental Surgery (B.D.S) from the University of Lucknow in August. 1954. For a little over eight months, that is to