Hon’ble Rajan Roy, J.—Heard learned counsel for the parties.

2. As both the writ petitions relate to the same selection and involve same facts and issues they are being decided by a common judgment. The facts of Writ Petition No. 326(SS) of 2016 have been considered for the sake of convenience.

3. The candidates who had applied for being considered for selection and appointment on the post of Assistant Teacher of Primary Schools in District Faizabad in pursuance to an advertisement issued on 12.12.2014 have filed this writ petition challenging the Government Order dated 18.12.2015 extending the last date for submission of forms for the remaining candidates to 15.1.2016.

4. The facts of the case in brief are as under :

The State Government issued a Government Order dated 9.12.2014 determining the vacancies on the post in question as 15,000/- and ordering initiation of a process of selection for filling up the same. In pursuance thereof, an advertisement was issued on 12.12.2014 inviting applications from eligible candidates possessing qualifications of two years B.T.C., two years Urdu B.T.C. and Special B.T.C. The last date for submission of forms was 5.3.2015. The petitioners herein alongwith about 34,000 candidates applied in pursuance thereof. Persons who possessed the qualification prescribed by the NCTE in its Regulations such as D. Ed. (Special Education), which was not mentioned in the advertisement, though it was mandatory, approached this Court at Allahabad by means of writ petition i.e. Writ-A No. 533 of 2015 which was decided on 2.2.2015. A direction was issued to the opposite parties to accept the online application forms of such petitioners, however, the advertisement which was under challenged was not quashed.

5. Some other persons filed Writ-A No. 7406 of 2015 challenging the notification and advertisement mentioned herein above on the ground that cut off date for determining age limit was wrongly mentioned as 1.7.2014 whereas in terms of Rule 6 of the Uttar Pradesh Basic Education (Teachers) Service Rules, 1981 (For short ‘Rules, 1981’) it should have been 1.7.2015. The said writ petition was decided on 25.2.2015 with a direction that the permissible age limit should be as on 1.7.2015 and all those who fall within the said cut off date should be allowed to submit their candidature.

6. Another writ petition bearing Writ-A No. 1205 of 2015 was filed by those who possessed the qualification of Bachelor Degree in Elementary Education (B. El. Ed.) challenging the same advertisement on the ground that this qualification had not been mentioned though it was mandatory as per the NCTE Regulations of 2011. The Court did not quash the advertisement but directed that a corrigendum be issued at the earliest preferably within a period of 15 days permitting the petitioners and those similarly situated to offer their candidature against the advertisement in question. This decision was rendered on 23.2.2015.

7. All the aforesaid judgments were passed prior to 5.3.2015 i.e. the last date for submission of forms but the relevant orders for compliance thereof were issued subsequently on 9.4.2015 extending the date for submission of such forms for candidates possessing D. Ed. (Special Education) from 16.4.2015 to 30.4.2015 and an advertisement was issued for this purpose on 15.4.2015. Another Government Order was issued on 2.6.2015 modifying the cut off date for fixation of age limit as 1.7.2015 and an advertisement was also issued in this regard inviting applications from eligible candidates and the date of submission of forms for them was fixed as 2.9.2015 to 11.9.2015. By a notification dated 31.8.2015 the same extension in date for submission of forms was granted to those who possesses the qualification of Special B.T.C. in the year 2004, 2007 and 2008. The judgment passed in Writ-A No. 1205 of 2015 was put to challenge in Special Appeal and thereafter before the Supreme Court by means of Special Leave Petition which was