1. The 17 petitioners were applicants for appointment to posts of Last Grade Servants in Alleppey District. They had applied pursuant to the notification issued by the Kerala Public Service Commission and published in Kerala Gazette dated 15-12-1981. They were included in the ranked list published on 5-3-1983 with rank Nos. between 166 and 473.8 of the petitioners in O. P. No. 8652 of 1984 and 2 petitioners in O. P. No. 10575 of 1984 belong to non-reservation communities. From these categories persons holding rank up to 128 were advised for appointment. 4 petitioners in the former and 3 candidates in the latter Original Petition belong to Ezhava and Muslim communities which are entitled to the benefits of reservation in the matter of employment. Candidates with ranks upto 142 and 170 were advised from these communities. All the petitioners are ranked lower down, the earliest with rank 166 and the last with rank 473 in the ranked list. According to R.13 of the Rules of Procedure of the Kerala Public Service Commission, the minimum period of validity of a ranked list is one year provided that the said list will continue in force till publication of a new list after the ex