( 1 ) THIS is a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution impugning the decision of the State government to impose a qualification test on the petitioners before granting them the new scales of pay and praying for an order directing the State to place the petitioners in the aforesaid higher revised scale of pay unconditionally.

( 2 ) THE facts, as stated in the affidavit supporting the petitioners, are these. The petitioners, who are 37 in number, are Auditors in the Cooperative Department of the State of Uttar Pradesh. They have varying lengths of services to their credit, the number of years for each is being specified iu paragraph 5 of the affidavit. They have been engaged in what the petitioners describe as the "highly qualified work of auditing. " At the time of the recruitment of the petitioners the minimum educational qualification was the passing of the Intermediate examination or any equivalent examination thereof. Previously the entire auditing Department consisted of a single section, in which every Auditor enjoyed the same status and rate of pay. But, with the growth of Cane Co-operative Societies in Uttar Pradesh, the Department was split up in tw