I.A. Ansari, J.

1. This writ petition, under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, has been made by a direct recruit to the post of Assistant Engineer (in short, 'AE') in Rural Works Department, Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh, (in short, 'RWD') whereby he has sought for not only review of the judgment and order, dated 11.11.2002, passed by this Court, in WP(C) No. 196(AP)/2001, but also a direction to the State respondents to recall the seniority list, dated 31.03.2004, whereby the petitioner, though recruited in the year 2001, has been shown as junior to the respondent Nos. 4 and 5, namely, Nending Batt and Hage Akha, who were petitioners in WP(C) No. 196(AP)/2001, aforementioned. Heard Mr. B.C. Das, learned Senior counsel, for the writ petitioner, and Mr. A.M. Buzarbaruah, learned Senior Govt. Advocate, Arunachal Pradesh, for the State respondents.

2. In order to correctly appreciate what the grievance of the present petitioner is, it is apposite to take note of the facts with which respondent Nos. 4 and 5 came to this Court with the writ petition made under Article 226, which gave rise to WP(C) No. 196(AP)/2001, and the reasons, which impelled the Court to issue directions to the State respondents to count the promotion of the respondent Nos. 4 and 5 herein to the post of AE with effect from 10.06.1999, i.e., the date on which they had, admittedly, become eligible for promotion to the post of AE.

3. As noted in the judgment and order, dated 11.11.2002, which the petitioner seeks to get reviewed, the case of the writ petitioners, in WP(C) No. 196(AP)/2001, was, in brief, thus:

Both the petitioners are degree-holders in Engineering and both of them were appointed as Junior Engineers in the RWD, Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh, way back on 10.06.94. By order, dated 30.04.97, issued by the said Department, the petitioners were promoted to the post of Technical Assistants. By 6th July, 1987, both the petitioners had passed Professional Accounts Examination. By order, dated 30.03.2001, issued by the RWD, both the petitioners along with 11 others have been promoted to the post of AE and both the petitioners are presently working as AEs, petitioner No. 1 being the AE, RWD, at Ziro Division and petitioner No. 2 being AE, RWD, at Lumla, Tawang. According to the relevant Recruitment Rules contained in Memo No.RWD/SECTT/95/94, dated 10th October, 1997, issued by the Secretary (RWD), Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh, the petitioners, being degree holders in Engineering are eligible for promotion as AEs on completion of 5 years of regular service. The petitioners, thus, became eligible for promotion as far back as on 10.06.99, but they have been granted promotion only by order, dated 30th March, 2001 issued by the Secretary, RWD, Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh, with effect from 30.03.2001, though clear vacancies existed for granting promotion to the petitioners on 10.06.99 (when they had become eligible for promotion to the post of AEs as hereinbefore mentioned) and despite the fact that some persons junior to the petitioners have been made AEs before the petitioners were regularly promoted as AEs.

4. As the respondents, in the earlier writ petition, did not file any affidavit and Mr. R.H. Nabam, learned Additional Senior Govt. Advocate, appearing on behalf of the State respondents, submitted to the Court that the writ petition be disposed of on merit, this Court, as noted in the judgment and order under review, proceeded on the premises that the facts, as had been averred in the writ petition, were undisputed. In fact, the facts, averred in the earlier writ petition, are, even today, not in dispute inasmuch as it is not in dispute that the writ petitioners became eligible for promotion to the post of AE on 10.06.99 and at the time, when they became so eligible for promotion to the post of AEs, more than two posts in their department, i.e., Rural Works Department, were lying vacant, which were to be filled up by promotion.

5. In the circumstances ind