The eight petitioners have filed this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for a writ of mandamus di­recting the respondents to regularise their ser­vice and to release their arrears as well as current salaries with effect from 16.09,1996.

2. The case of the petitioners is that pur­suant to an advertisement in local newspaper issued by the Education Department, Gov­ernment of Assam in the year 1991, inviting application from eligible candidates for ap­pointment as Assistant Teachers for Primary School, they had applied for the same. The Sub-Divisional Lower Primary Advisory Board that was constituted, on receipt of the applications submitted by the candidates in­cluding the petitioners, had conducted inter­views from 25.11,1991 to 03.12,1992 un­der the supervision of the respondent No.3. The petitioners were selected in such inter­view for appointment as Assistant Teachers for Primary Schools at Hojai Sub Division. Accordingly, the respondent No.3 issued appointment orders to the petitioners in vari­ous Lower Primary Schools where there were vacancies due to expiry/retirement and transfer of teachers, in the months of May, June, July