Honble KOKJE, ACTG. CJ.–The petitioners, in these cases, are Class IV servants in Government Departments, who have acquired a qualification equivalent to Secondary School Examination like Rashtra Bhasha Parichay from Rashtra Bhasha Prachar Samiti, Vardha; Prathama from Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, Prayag, Allahabad etc. Some of them are working in the State Secretariate and some are working in other Government Departments. Class III employees of the Secretariate are governed by the Rajasthan Secretariate Ministerial Service Rules, 1970 and those Class Ill servants belonging to other departments are governed by the Rajasthan Subordinate Offices Ministerial Staff Rules, 1957 (for short, the Rules, 1970 and 1957). In both the Rules, there is a provision for promotion from Class IV posts to Class Ill posts of Lower Division Clerks. The petitioners are desirous of promotion to the post of L.D.C.

(2). Eligibility for promotion to the post of L.D.C. under the 1957 Rules was Secondary School Examination or its equivalent Examination recognised by the Government. Thereafter, under the amended rules, qualifications equivalent to Secondary School Examination were deleted from the rule relating to eligibility with the result that no person who did not possess Secondary School Examination certificate from the Rajasthan Secondary Education Board or University or Board established by law in India, was eligible for promotion to the post of L.D.C. with effect from 28th June, 1985. All the petitioners had acquired the equivalent qualifications prior to 28th June, 1985. They were not promoted till 28th June, 1985 and the respondents expressed their inability to promote them after 28th of June, 1985, applying the amended Rules.

(3). Several employees similarly situated to the petitioners filed petitions before this Court. Many of them succeeded, while the others did not. When S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 7328/92 (Prem Kumar v. State) was posted for hearing before a learned Single Judge (Honble M.B. Sharma, J.) on 5.2.1993, the learned Judge, by a detailed order, expressed his opinion that the eligibility and qualifications have to be taken into consideration on the day the vacancy occurred and not on any anterior date. His Lordship, therefore, concluded that the view taken by this Court in various cases, needed reconsideration in the light of cases decided by various courts in India. His Lordship framed the following questions and requested the Honble Chief Justice to refer them to a Bench of more than 2 Judges

``1. Whether the rules can prospectively lay-down different qualifications or eligibility for appointment by direct recruitment or by promotion and whether if the rules so provide, can it be said that so far as those who have acquired the qualification which was recognised earlier making person eligible for appointment either by direct recruitment or by promotion, they are retrospective in nature?

(2). Whether the eligibility including educational qualification for any vacancy is to be seen on the date the vacancy occurs or on any anterior date ?

3. Whether one who has passed Rashtra Bhasha Prachar Examination or any other examination during the period it was recognised or any other examination making him eligible for appointment by direct recruitment, or by promotion, if it is de-recognised, whether those who have passed the examination during the period of recognition, have any right of appointment against the vacancy which occurs after derecognition.

(4). The matter then came up before a Division Bench on 2.2.1994, presided over by Honble the then Chief Justice and the Bench directed it to be placed before a 3-Judge Bench as decided by the learned Single Judge. This is how the matter is before us.

(5). In S.B. Civil Writ Petitions No. 356/93, 1369/93 and 1432/93, when the matters came up before Honble A.K. Parihar, J., he directed them to be tagged alongwith Writ Petition No. 7328/92 as the points involved were the same as were referred to the Ful

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