R. Narayana Pisharadi, J.

The appellants are persons appointed as Tyre Inspector and Conductor respectively in the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (hereinafter referred to as 'the Corporation'). Their aspiration was to get appointment to the post of Legal Assistant in the Corporation. Their names were included in a rank list prepared by the Corporation for appointment to that post. Before appointing the appellants, the Corporation terminated the period of validity of the rank list. They filed W.P.(C) No. 8905 of 2012 against the Corporation challenging that decision but they could not succeed. They have now come up in appeal.

2. The Corporation issued Ext.P1 circular memorandum dated 15.12.2006 inviting applications from qualified employees in the active service of the Corporation for selection and appointment to the post of Legal Assistant. The appellants participated in the selection process conducted pursuant to Ext.P1 notification. Ext.P2 rank list dated 25.01.2007 was published by the Corporation after the selection. The names of the appellants figured as serial Nos. 5 and 8 in Ext.P2 rank list.

3. As per Ext.P3 memorandum dated 25.01.2007 issued by the Corporation, four persons who had secured the first four ranks in the selection process and ranked as Sl.Nos. 1 to 4, were appointed as Legal Assistants by the Corporation. Thereafter, as per Ext.P4 memorandum dated 13.2.2007, the appellants and another person were posted temporarily on working arrangement to attend to the duties of Assistants, without any change in their designation. The posting of the appellants thus made was purely temporary.

4. As per Ext.P9 order dated 12.5.2011, two Legal Assistants (who were serial Nos.1 and 3 in Ext.P2 rank list) were promoted to the post of Deputy Law Officer. By that time, on 31.3.2011, the second person in Ext.P2 rank list had retired from service. The fourth person in Ext.P2 rank list had gone on deputation to another department in the year 2010 but subsequently she was reverted back to the Corporation.

5. Meanwhile, the appellants made Ext.P10 representation dated 3.4.2009 to the Corporation requesting that they may be appointed to the post of Legal Assistant in the vacancies which would arise on account of the promotions to be made to the post of Deputy Law Officer from the Legal Assistants. The first appellant made Ext.P11 representation dated 15.12.2010 to the Corporation for appointing him to the post of Legal Assistant. The appellants made Ext.P13 representation dated 17.5.2011 to the Corporation requesting that they may be appointed as Legal Assistants. The appellants and another person also made Ext.P12 representation dated 13.6.2011 to the Corporation for the same relief. The appellants also filed W.P.(C) No.19995 of 2011 before this Court and as per Ext.P14 judgment in the writ petition, the Managing Director of the Corporation was directed to consider and pass appropriate orders on the representation made by them. As per Ext.P16 memorandum dated 5.3.2012, the Corporation rejected the claim made by the appellants for appointment to the post of Legal Assistant. The Corporation took the stand that the period of validity of Ext.P2 rank list expired on completion of the period of three years from the date of its publication. The Corporation also took notice of the fact that new regulations for appointment to various posts in the Law Branch have come into force with effect from 7.10.2011 and that the Corporation has reported the existing four vacancies of Legal Assistants to the Kerala Public Service Commission. On receipt of Ext.P16 memorandum, the appellants filed W.P.(C) No. 8905 of 2012 for quashing Ext.P16 memorandum and also Ext.P17 regulations and to direct the Corporation to make appointment to the post of Legal Assistant from the persons included in Ext.P2 rank list. The appellants also claimed regularisation in the post of Legal Assistant.

6. The Corporation filed a counter affidavit in the writ petit