SANJIV KHANNA, J.

1. There is a plethora of case law relating to seniority disputes between direct recruits and promotees. The present litigation exposits another facet of conflict relating to the stage of induction, i.e. the appointment of direct recruits and promotion of in service officers.

2. The unusual feature of the present litigation is that the Union Public Services Commission and the Ministry of Law and Justice and the Department of Personnel & Training (Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions) have taken divergent positions. The Union Public Service Commission (for short ‘Commission’) though statedly neutral, to some extent supports the petitioners who had applied for selection and appointment to the post of Deputy Legal Advisor (DLA) in the open category, whereas the Ministry of Law and Justice (also referred to as the Ministry) and the Department of Personnel & Training (DoP&T) support the promotees and are opposing the petition.

3. The post of DLA is the second post in the hierarchy, above the post of Assistant Legal Advisor (ALA) in the In