JUDGMENT :

NISHA M. THAKORE, J.

1. By way of this group of Letters Patent Appeals, original respondents State challenged the CAV Common Judgment dated 07.09.2016 passed by the learned Single Judge (Coram: J.B. Pardiwala, J.) in writ petition being Special Civil Application No.8152 of 2015 and allied matters.

2. Brief facts as emerged from the record are summarized as under:

2.1 The original writ applicants were employed by respondent State on the post of Lecturers on ad hoc and/or contractual basis in the Government Engineering Colleges and Government Diploma Engineering Polytechnics. The aforesaid institutions are governed by All India Council for Technical Education Act, 1987 (hereinafter referred to as “AICTE Act”). Pursuant to the instructions received by the AICTE, the posts of Lecturer in Degree Engineering Colleges has been redesignated as Assistant Professor.

2.2 Since there has been some delay in undertaking the recruitment for the post of Assistant Professor, the State at the relevant point of time decided to fill up by ad hoc appointment against vacant sanctioned posts of