The J&K Public Service Commission, Jammu vide its Notification No.09 PSC of 2006 dated 28.12.2006, invited applications from the permanent residents of J&K State for the post of Soil Conservation Assistant (Engg) Bio-gas Engineer and Technical Assistants against 23 posts available in the following break-up: -

OM	RBA	SC	ST	ALC	SLC	PHC	Total
09	05	04	04	01	-	-	23

The eligibility qualification prescribed for the post was B.Sc. Agriculture Engineering from a recognized institute or University.

2. The Government by its order No. 18-Agri. of 1998 dated 12.01.1998, provided as follows:-

"Whereas the Govt. of India under Soil Conservation Scheme prescribed that half of the strength of the staff in the Soil Conservation Scheme should comprise of Agriculture or Civil Engineers and the other half from Agriculture Graduates; and

Whereas a provision was made to this effect in the J&K Agriculture (Gazetted) Service Recruitment Rules. 1988 by incorporating Soil Conservation Assistant (Engg.) in class -VII of the schedule attached to above rules.

Whereas the posts of Soil Conservation Assistants available in the soil Conservation Scheme of Agriculture Department are required to be shared equally by Agriculture Engg. Graduates and non-Engineering graduates in accordance with the norms of the scheme.

Now, therefore, it is hereby ordered that the posts of Soil Conservation Assistants will be filled up in the department on 50:50 basis from among the B.Sc. Agriculture Engineer Graduates and B.Sc. Agriculture graduates as per guidelines contained in the Soil Conservation Scheme."

3. The scheme referred in the above said order was formulated on 24th August 1972. Para 9 of the said scheme reads as follows: -

"About half of the strength of the staff in the Soil Conservation Organization should comprise Agricultural or Civil engineers and the other half Agriculture graduates. All the staff should be sent in phased manner for training to the training centers of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and of Punjab, Haryana and Utter Pradesh. It is further suggested that Divisional officers for irrigated areas should be both engineers and their staff should consists of engineers at the Assistant Soil Conservation Officer level. Fifty percent of the staff at the level of Soil Conservation Assistant and field Asstts. Should also comprise engineering skills. The bulk of the work involved in the sub-division will be of engineering nature and hence the technical discipline of the personal just suit the job requirement,"

The petitioners who are occupying the posts of Soil Conservation Assistant and one of them Assistant Agriculture Extension Officer in Agriculture Department came to be appointed in terms of J&K Agriculture (Gazetted) Service Recruitment Rules, 1978 which was in force then. The posts occupied by the petitioners are in Clause VI posts of schedule-I appended to the Rules. For becoming eligible to the posts mentioned in Clause-V, it was necessary to have seven years service on Clause VI cadre post. The petitioners who were holding the post of Agriculture Extension Officer and equivalent posts were sent for training in Soil Conservation by the State Government in various institutes of India Council of Agricultural Research. On completion of the training, they had been transferred and posted as Soil Conservation Assistants.

4. The J&K Agriculture (Gazetted) Service Recruitment Rules were repealed by framing J&K Agriculture (Gazette) Service Rules of 1988, through the medium of SRO179 of 1988. Schedule-I to the J&K Agriculture (Gazetted) Service Recruitment Rules 1988, reflects the cadre strength of various posts in the Agriculture Department.

5. At serial No.78, against the cadre strength of Soil Conservation Assistant, 60 permanent posts have been shown, at serial 79, 12 posts Assistant Engineer Bio-Gas have been shown and at serial No. 80 four posts in the cadre of Technical Assistant have been shown. However, schedule-II in Clause VII has two classes of posts. First p

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