Utpalendu Bikas Saha, J.

1. These appeals, namely WA No. 23/2012, WA 32/2012 and WA 33/2012 are directed against the common judgment and order passed by the learned Single Judge in WP(C) 195 of 2010 and WP(C) 440 of 2010, wherein while the learned single judge allowed the writ petitions of the respondents in WA 23/2012 and WA 32/2012 who were petitioners in the aforesaid writ petitions, with the following directions:-

i. Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) is directed to first consider promotion of the writ petitioners in WP(C) 195 and 440 of 2010, to fill the vacancies of TPS Grade-II Officers;

ii. DPC shall consider the case of the private respondents in the second round; and

iii. Relaxation given by the government under notification dated 9th March, 2010 shall be confined to only the 51 (fifty-one) posts of TPS Grade-II Officers and that too after first considering eligible officers on the basis of merit prescribed in Rule 14 of the TPS Rules, i.e. prior to relaxation notification.

iv. The relaxation notification shall not be applied in any case after filling 51 (fifty-one) posts of TPS Grade-II Officers.

Learned Single Judge also directed the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) to hold the selection process as expeditiously as possible preferably within a period of three months from the date of judgment as large numbers of posts of TPS Grade-II Officers were lying vacant and many officers were likely to go on superannuation within a short period.

The Writ Appeal No. 23/2012 and Writ Appeal No. 33/2012 have been filed by the State appellants and the Writ Appeal No. 32/2012 has been filed by the writ petitioners in WP(C) 440/2010 who are the respondents in WA23/2012.

2. Heard Mr. D.P. Kundu, learned Advocate General for the State as well as Mr. Joydeep Gupta, learned senior counsel assisted by Ms. AS Lodh, learned Addl. GA for the State of Tripura and Ms R. Guha, learned counsel appearing for the State-appellants. Also heard Mr. Somik Deb, learned counsel for the respondents in WA 23/2012 and the appellants in WA33/2012 as well as Mr. KN Bhattacharjee, learned senior counsel assisted by Mr. Kohinoor N Bhattacharjee, learned counsel and Ms Y Taneja, learned counsel appearing for the respondents in WA 32/2012.

3. The respondent-writ petitioners who were Subedars in the Tripura State Rifles (for short, "State Rifles") had challenged the Office Memorandum dated 19th February, 2010 wherein proposal for relaxation of eligibility criteria for promotion to the post of TPS Grade-II as stipulated in Rule 14 of the Tripura Police Service Rules, 1967 (12th Amendment) (for short, "Rules, 1967"), had been submitted by the Principal Secretary to the Govt. of Tripura to the Council of Ministers and also the notification dated 9th March, 2010 which was issued in exercise of the powers conferred by Rule 34 of the said Rules, 1967 in consultation with the Tripura Public Service Commission (for short, "TPSC") for granting one time relaxation of the eligibility criteria as prescribed in Rule 14 of the Rules, 1967 for promotion of the Inspectors of Police and Subedars of State Rifles to the post of TPS Grade-II as 51 posts of such TPS Grade-II were lying vacant at the relevant time.

4. The case of the respondent-writ petitioners was that initially the police officers of the State and the members of State Rifles, like the petitioners who were holding the post of Subedars were governed by different sets of rules, such as police officers were governed by TPS Rules, 1967, whereas the Subedars were governed by the Tripura State Rifles Act, 1983 (for short, "Act 1983") and the Rules made thereunder. By way of the 12th Amendment in the TPS Rules made in the year 2006, Rule 5 was amended and the Subedars were brought within the zone of feeder posts with the police officers of the State wherein by way of proviso, it was stated that 64% of the vacancies to be filled by selection shall be filled by eligible Inspectors of Police and the remaining 36% of