Hon’ble Sudhir Agarwal, J.—All these petitions are connected and involve similar questions of facts and law and, therefore, have been heard together as requested and agreed by learned Counsel for the parties and are being decided by this common judgment.

2. An old and stale dispute which attained finality long back, yet can be kept alive by a litigant by filing several writ petitions in a circuitous manner is writ large from this group of writ petitions. It is evident from the facts and dispute raised in all these writ petitions as analysed and discussed hereinbelow.

3. Avinash Gyan Peeth Kanya High School, Tilak Nagar, Kanpur Nagar (hereinafter referred to as the “College”) is recognised by the U.P. Board of High School and Intermediate Education (in short “the Board”) under U.P. Intermediate Education Act, 1921 (hereinafter referred to as the “1921 Act”). The appointment of teachers in the College is to be made through U.P. Secondary Education Services Selection Board (in short “the Commission) , constituted under the provisions of U.P. Secondary Education Services Selection Board Act, 1982 (hereinafter referred to as “1982 Act”). However, it is not disputed between the parties that the College is receiving grant in aid and salary is paid under U.P. High Schools and Intermediate Colleges (Payment of Salaries of Teachers and other Employees) Act, 1971(hereinafter referred to as “1971 Act”) only upto High School. The then Principal of the College retired on 30.6.1988 as a result whereof one Smt. Shiv Sheel Saxena. L.T. Grade teacher was appointed as ad hoc Principal of the College on 8.7.1988. This resulted in a short term vacancy in L.T. Grade whereupon Smt. Rita Shukla (later on became Smt. Rita Tripathi, after marriage) (hereinafter referred to as the “second petitioner”) was appointed as L.T. Grade Teacher purely on ad hoc basis and her appointment was approved by the Regional Inspectress of Girls Schools, IV Region, Allahabad (hereinafter referred to “RIGS”) vide order dated 20.12.1989. The said appointment was approved till reversion of Smt. Shiv Sheel Saxena from the post of officiating Principal. Smt. Saxena, however, attained the age of superannuation on 30.6.1990 resulting in substantive vacancy in L.T. Grade, on the post on which the second petitioner was appointed, and, therefore, she continued as such. Subsequently, by order dated 27.1.1994 passed by Regional Deputy Director of Education II, Kanpur Region, Kanpur, she was regularised as Assistant Teacher, L.T. Grade. Smt. Bharti Roy (hereinafter referred to as “the first petitioner”) was appointed on purely ad hoc basis in C.T. Grade vide order dated 20.2.1982. Subsequently, in view of Section 33-A of 1982 Act as amended by Ordinance No. 12 of 1985, she was substantively appointed in C.T. Grade w.e.f. 12.6. 1985 by order dated 9.7.1986 passed by RIGS, Allahabad. It appears that a seniority list of teachers was circulated by the management of the College in 1994 wherein the second petitioner was shown at serial No. 3 while the first petitioner was shown at serial No. 4. One Sri Rama Pati Singh was placed at serial No. 1 and Smt. Sheela Mehrotra at serial No. 2.

4. According to the first petitioner the said seniority list was published on 3.7.1996 whereagainst she made several representations to the Management of the College (Anenxures 8 to 13 to writ petition No. 24401 of 1996), claiming seniority over Sri Ramapati Singh, Smt. Rita Tripathi and Km. Sudha Kapoor and thereafter filed writ petition No. 24401 of 1996, impleading Sri Ramapati Singh as respondent No. 4, Joint Director of Education (II), Kanpur, Regional Inspectress of Girls Schools, Kanpur Nagar and the Committee of Management as respondents No. 1 to 3 respectively and sought the following reliefs :

(i) A writ, order or direction in the nature of writ of mandamus commanding the respondents to treat the petitioner as senior to Sri Rama Pati Singh, respondent No. 4, and to forthwith appoint the peti