By an advertisement dated 25.11.99,30 posts of Junior Engineer (Civil) and 4 posts of Junior Engineer (Mechanical) in the Public Works Department of the State of Assam, were advertised. The aforesaid advertised posts were later on increased to 54 on the basis of the requisition submitted by the appointing authority. The selection was to be made from the merit list prepared on the basis of written examination and viva voce. The written examination was held on 19.3.2000 and the candidates who had secured qualifying marks in the written examination were initially called for viva voce including the present appellants. We are told that the minimum qualifying marks for being called for viva voce were 110 out of 200. While the interviews/viva voce were going on as stated above, the Assam Public Service Commission on the basis of a report of the committee constituted by it decided in a meeting of the Commission held on 20.7.2001 to cancel the results of the written examination and viva voce. The Commission further decided to call all the candidates for interview irrespective whether they had passed in the written examination or not (as the written examination had been can