Paresh Upadhyay, J.

1. Challenge in this group of petitions is made by number of petitioners to the actions of the State of Gujarat ('the State' for short) and the Gujarat Public Service Commission ('the GPSC' for short), pertaining to the recruitment process and the appointments/non-appointments in different posts in the Gujarat Civil Services Class-I and Class-II, pursuant to the Advertisement No. 87/2006-07 published by the GPSC.

2. Relevant facts giving rise to this batch of petitions, are as under.

2.1 The Gujarat Public Service Commission issued an Advertisement No. 87/2006-07 on 26.06.2006 and invited applications for recruitment on different posts in the Gujarat Civil Services Class-I and Class-II. It was for recruitment for total 283 posts. Thereafter, it was amended vide Public Notice dated 10.11.2006 to increase the total number of posts to be filled in, from 283 to 317. The details of the said advertisement, with required break up, are noted in the later part of this judgment. (Para:35.2).

2.2 Pursuant to the said advertisement, combined competitive examinatio