The petitioner and the 4th respondent are members of the teaching staff of Sree Sankara College, Kalady. They were both Junior Lecturers. They both had obtained M. A Degree in English, but with III Class That class was sufficient to be appointed as Junior Lecturers. However, the minimum qualification for promotion as Lecturers was a II Class. A temporary exemption was given to them by the competent authority of the University by its order dated 31-6-1974 for a period of three years This was to enable persons like the petitioner and the 4th respondent to acquire the diploma in English which was considered to be a certificate of their "improvement" in English. Neither the petitioner nor the 4th respondent acquired the diploma within the stipulated time. The 4th respondent was admittedly senior to the petitioner as Junior Lecturer. However, by Ext. P2 dated 12-1-1976 the Vice-Chancellor acting as a delegate of the Syndicate in terms of S.23(xix) of the Kerala University Act made the following order:

"The Vice-Chancellor has approved the promotion of Shri K. G. Padmanabha Pillai (the petitioner), Junior Lecturer in English as Lecturer in the Sree Sankara College, Kalady wit