The main legal point established in the judgment is that changes in recruitment rules and re-designation of posts can have a significant impact on the appointment process, and candidates cannot claim appointment based on old rank lists under new rules.

K.A. Abdul Gafoor, J.

Petitioners in these Original Petitions are included in the rank list prepared by the Public Service Commission for appointment to the post of Executive Officer Grade II in the Panchayath Department. Ext. P2 in O.P. 3552/97 is the list, in question. The list had been published on 12.3.96. It was prepared on the basis of a recruitment process which commenced in terms of Ext.P1 notification dated 21.10.89. At that time filling up of the post of Executive Officers in the Panchayath in the State was governed by the rules issued in notification No. LA 14-290875/57/L&LAD dated 5th September 1958 in terms of T-C Panchayath Act, 1950. R.2 thereof provides that there shall be three grades of Panchayath Executive Officers namely Special grade, First Grade and Second Grade and that "Government may by order, fix the scale of pay and the number of posts in each grade from time to time" (emphasis supplied). Recruitment is governed by R.3 thereof. The entire vacancies in the posts of Special Grade Executive Officer and Executive Officer Grade I shall be filled up only by promotion. Direct recruitment is available only in respect of Executive Officer Grade II. Fifty per cent of the posts by appointment by selection by the Public Service Commission from among the Head Clerks, Panchayath Assistants, Bill Collectors and Panchayath Clerks in service with total 10 years of service, and again 40% by direct recruitment by the Public Service Commission from open market. Ten per cent Of the posts is reserved for appointment by promotion. Thus, out of every ten posts of the Executive Officer Grade II in the concerned districts, five shall be filled up by departmental candidates through direct recruitment and four by direct recruitment from open market. The ratio is thus always fixed on the basis of cadre strength. The petitioners in these cases are candidates included in the rank list prepared by the Public Service Commission from open market as well as direct recruitment from service candidates, relating to Thiruvananthapuram district, as it was district-wise category. Five posts were notified. Notification was as mentioned earlier, on 21.10.89.

2. While the recruitment process was on the way, new Panchayath Raj Act came into force. That resulted in new special rules displacing the rules issued in the notification referred to above, under the T.C. Panchayath Act. The new rules were notified on 16.6.94 retrospectively from 1.1.90. As per the new rules, there are no posts of Executive Officers of different grades. The Executive Officers were re-designated as Secretaries of Grama Panchayats. As per the new rules there are only two grades namely First Grade Secretaries and Secretaries, depending upon the status of the Panchayats. Direct recruitment is in respect of the Secretaries alone and that too to 40% from among the open market. The remaining 60% of the posts are reserved for promotion.

3. When Ext. P2 list was brought into force on 12.3.96, there was no post for which recruitment was notified. That became the post of Secretary and the post of Secretary included in the erstwhile posts of Special Grade Executive Officer and Executive Officer Grade II as well as Grade I. The Public Service Commission advised only candidates against the vacancies already reported prior to the notification. Thus only five candidates from both the lists were advised and consequently they were appointed. No further vacancies were reported by the Department as no posts of Executive Officer Grade II exist. The petitioners are ranked top in the list. As they did not get advice memo nor appointment order, they have approached this Court with these writ petitions. There is no challenge to the new special rules.

4. The petitioners contend that the qualifications for the post of Executive Officer Grade II as contained in Ext. P1 notification and that for the Secretaries as per the new special rules are one and the same; and new special rules only red