JUDGMENT :

R.C. Patnaik, J. - By and large, common man is not litigation minded, nor he is averse to litigation. Litigation is not his pursuit, his hobby sometimes, however, he inherits litigation and willy-nilly pursues it. Often, however, a litigation is thrust on him. The Petitioners belong to the last category. Why did they approach the portals of a court which a prudent man approaches as a last resort because of the time that is consumed in litigation and the financial drain it involves?

2. This is their tale.

They are senior Stenographer - Petitioners 1 to 10 and 12 are Senior Stenographers to the Judges and Petitioner No. 11 is Senior Stenographer to the Registrar. They have been imploring for years for the upgradation of their posts to that of personal Assistants. The Government had decreed the benefit years back to the Stenographers to the Secretaries, Special Secretaries, Addl. Secretaries, Heads of Departments. Collectors and the Advocate General. The High Court even has espoused their cause as reasonable, justified and deserving. Recommendation, as it did emanate from the High Court, the apex Court of the State, should normally have been accepted by the Executive. The prop