The court emphasized the distinction between conditions of recruitment and conditions of service, and held that the conditions of recruitment cannot be relaxed unless the rules provide for such relaxation. The court also highlighted the fundamental right of a Government employee to be considered for promotion when eligible.

P.P. Naolekar, J.

1. A batch of four writ petitions, namely, WP(C) No. 274(SH)/2001, WP(C) No. 275(SH)/2001, WP(C) No. 276(SH)/2001 and WP(C) No. 277(SH)/2001, involving similar questions of facts and law, were heard together by the learned Single Judge and decided by common judgment and order, dated 2.1.2003. Aggrieved by the directions contained therein, the private respondents in the said writ petitions have preferred the present five writ appeals, namely, Writ Appeal No. 29/2003, 30/2003, 31/2003, 32/2003 and 33/2003.

2. The facts, which are material for the purpose of disposal of the writ appeals, are not in controversy. What emerges as the admitted case of the parties may, in brief, be set out as follows :

(i) All the writ petitioners in these appeals are Post Graduates in different specialized fields of medical sciences. Following selection by the Meghalaya Public Service Commission, the writ petitioners joined, on different dates, the Meghalaya Health Service as specialists in the pay scale of Rs.1000-55-330-EB-70-1750. The writ petitioners in WP(C) No. 274 (SH)/2001, WP(C) No. 276 (SH)/2001 and WP(C) No. 275 (SH)/2001 have joined the said service on 14.7.1981, 24.1.1980 and 28.9.1981 respectively and though the petitioner in WP(C) No. 277 (SH)/2001 had initially joined, on 5.2.1979, as Assistant Surgeon in the pay scale of Rs.700-40-900-EB-40-1100-EB-45-1550 he too, upon selection, joined the said services, on 24.1.1980, as Medical Specialist in the scale of Rs.1000-1750. All the private respondents in the writ petitions aforementioned are appellants herein except Meghalaya Health Service Association, which is an association of all the members of the Meghalaya Health Service (hereinafter shall be referred to as "the said Association"). All the private respondents except the said Association were appointed on various dates in Meghalaya Health Service in the pay scale of Rs. 700-40-900-EB-40-1100-EB-45-1550. At the time, when the parties aforementioned had joined the said service, there was no definite set of recruitment rules. It was only on 16.8.1982 that the Meghalaya Health Services Rules, 1982 (hereinafter shall be referred to as the "1982 Rules") came into force and the said service received definite recruitment rules which prescribed, inter alia, conditions of recruitment and conditions of service of the members of the said service. The 1982 Rules prescribed four grades for the members of the said service, these grades being Senior Grade, Grade-I, Grade-II and Grade-III and laid down different pay scales for each of the said four grades. Since, at the time when the 1982 Rules came into force, the writ petitioners were working in the pay scale of Rs.1000-1750, they were placed in Grade-II inasmuch as the said scale of pay was prescribed pay scale for the members of the Grade-II. Similarly, the appellants herein except the said Association were placed in Grade-III inasmuch as their pay scale of Rs.700-1550 was the pay scale prescribed for the members of the Grade-III under the 1982 Rules, According to Sub-rule (2) of Rule 6 of 1982 Rules, a minimum period of 3 years of continuous service in Grade-III was required for the purpose of promotion to Grade-II from Grade-III and, similarly, for the purpose of promotion from Grade-II to Grade-I also, the minimum prescribed period was a period of 3 years of continuous service in Grade-II. Ignoring, however, the fact that the writ petitioners had become eligible for promotion on completion of three years of continuous service in Grade-II, the Government chose not to promote any of them to Grade-I, whereas the members of the said service, who were in Grade-III, continued to receive, from time to time, promotion to Grade-II from Grade-III. As promotions were not accorded to the members of Grade-II, they made several representations to the authorities concerned, but these representations yielded no results.

(ii) With effect from 5th December, 1990, the Meghalaya Health Serv