Heard Mrs G. Deka, learned Govt. Advocate, for the appellant and Mr B.K. Sharma, learned counsel appearing for respondent No. 1 (writ petitioner).

2. By an advertisement issued by the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (for short, APPSC), dated 23.9.99, applications were invited for filling up 22 posts of Assistant Engineers (Civil), Group 'B' (Gazetted) under the Irrigation and Flood Control Department. Out of these 22 posts, 18 posts were reserved for the Scheduled Tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. This reservation is pursuant to the notification issued by the Government of Arunachal Pradesh, dated 24.9.90, which reads as under:-

"In exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (4) of Article 16 of the Constitution of India, the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh is pleased to order that 80% (Eighty percent) of the Group 'B' posts which are filled up by direct recruitment shall be reserved for Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe candidates.

This notification shall come into force with immediate effect."

3. In passing we may notice that the indigenous inhabitants of Arunachal Pradesh, all belong to Scheduled Tribes. In other words, 80% of the posts are meant for Arunachal