This group of Appeals preferred by the writ petitioners under clause 10 of the Letters Patent arise from a common judgment and order dated 7th May 2013 passed by the learned Single Judge in CWJC No. 12121 of 2012 and other writ petitions. The matter at dispute is the recruitment for 2058 posts of Junior Engineer (Civil) in Water Resources Department pursuant to the advertisement dated 29th November 2006 published by the Bihar Staff Selection Commission (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Commission’).

2. It appears that the State Government made recruitment for appointment to the posts of Junior Engineer (Civil)/(Mechanical) under the advertisement published on 26th May 2006 and 4th August 2006 on the basis of the qualifying marks obtained by the candidates in aggregate. Pursuant to the requisition made by the State Government, the Commission published the above referred advertisement on 29th November 2006, inter alia, for recruitment for 2058 posts of Junior Engineer (Civil). According to the said advertisement, for appointment to the post of Junior Engineer (Civil), the candidate must posses a Diploma in Civil Engineering or Rural Engineering from an institution recognized by the Bihar Technical Examination Board or the Central Technical Examination Board. The examination was conducted in two papers of 100 marks each in General Knowledge and in Civil Engineering. The petitioners claim that they had successfully cleared the examination by obtaining the qualifying marks at the said examination and that they have a right to appointment as Junior Engineer under the Government of Bihar.

3. It is indeed true that the Commission did prepare and publish a merit list of 800 candidates who had secured 40% marks in aggregate. The said merit list was not approved by the State Government. The State Government noticed that many of the candidates in the select list had failed to secure the qualifying marks in Civil Engineering but had secured qualifying marks in aggregate. In the opinion of the State Government, the candidates who had failed to secure qualifying marks in Civil Engineering, were not suitable for appointment as Engineers under the State Government. The State Government, therefore, under letter dated 23rd May 2012 requested the Commission to re-examine the merit list and to prepare a merit list of the candidates who had secured qualifying marks in both the papers. Pursuant to the said request, the Commission prepared a fresh merit list of 392 candidates who had secured qualifying marks in each paper. In the process, the petitioners who had earlier been placed on the merit list have lost their ground. The petitioners have, therefore, approached this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution to question the decision of the State Government and the latter merit list of 392 successful candidates prepared and published by the Commission.

4. The appellants-petitioners have relied on the Government Resolution dated 22nd December 1990 containing the General Instructions for the Bihar Public Service Commission and the Bihar Staff Selection Commission in respect of the qualifying marks to be obtained by the candidates in various competitive examinations for recruitment to the posts under the State Government. In the submission of the petitioners, the said Resolution did not specify that the qualifying marks indicated in the said Resolution were required to be obtained in each individual paper. The Bihar Staff Selection Commission had earlier, pursuant to the advertisement dated 26th May 2006 and 4th August 2006, made selection on the basis of the qualifying marks obtained in aggregate. The same criterion was required to be continued in respect of the subject recruitment. The Commission had indeed prepared the merit list on the basis of the qualifying marks obtained by the candidates in aggregate without reference to the marks obtained in each individual paper. The petitioners had been declared successful under the original me