JUDGMENT

Omprakash Trivedi, J. - This petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been filed by Madan Mohan Saran and Sri Ram Bhargava against Hon'ble V. G. Oak, the then Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court (opposite party No. 1), Hon'ble the Chief Justice, High Court, Allahabad (opposite party No. 2), the Registrar, High Court, Allahabad (opposite party No. 3) and 17 others. The petitioners were employees of the erst-while Chief Court of Avadh and became the employees of the newly constituted High Court of Judicature at Allahabad on promulgation of the U. P. High Courts (Amalgamation) Order, 1948. A seniority list determining inter se seniority of the employees belonging to the erstwhile Chief Court of Avadh and the employees of the erstwhile Allahabad High Court was prepared and circulated in the year 1967. The petitioners felt aggrieved from this seniority list and preferred a writ petition, which was numbered as writ Petition No. 693 of 1969 at the Lucknow Bench of this Court on 12.8.1969 and it was admitted the same day. On 27.11.1970 an application was moved before Hon'ble the Chief Justice, High Court at Allahabad under clause 14 of the U. P. High Courts (Amalgamation) Order, 1948 (hereinafter referred to as the Amalgamation Order) on behalf of Hon'ble the Chief Justice (opposite party No, 2) and the Registrar. High Court (opposite party No. 3) for transfer of this writ petition from the Lucknow Bench to the High Court at Allahabad on the ground that two writ petitions(Nos. 1388 of 1969 and 2483 of 1969) had been filed at Allahabad and admitted and in those writ petitions also the order of Hon'ble the Chief Justice dated March 1, 1969 was being impugned on grounds similar to those in Wit Petition No. 693 of 1969, that in view of importance of questions raised in those writ petitions the Advocate-General U. P. was likely to appear and argue cases on behalf of the contesting respondents and in order to avoid possible conflict of decisions in the two set of writ petitions pending at Allahabad and at the Lucknow Bench and from the point of view of convenience transfer was necessary.

2. This application was allowed by Mr. V. G. Oak, Chief Justice (as he then was) by the following order :

"Heard the learned counsel for the parties. I understand that two connected writ petitions ate pending at Allahabad. Although he petitioners belong to Lucknow, the opposite parries to Allahabad. It will, therefore, be convenient if the present writ petition is also disposed of at Allahabad.

The application is allowed. The writ petition is transferred from Lucknow to Allahabad for final disposal at Allahabad. Summon the record from Lucknow immediately. If possible, this writ petition should be listed for final hearing on 5.2.1970 along with the other connected writ petitions."

It is this order which is challenged in the present writ petition and there is a prayer that the same may be quashed by a writ of certiorari. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioners pressed only one ground impugning the order, of which Annexure 5 is a copy. It was urged that the application (Annexure 1) moved for transfer of the case from the Lucknow Bench to Allahabad under clause 14 of the Amalgamation Order on behalf of opposite parties 2 and 3 was incompetent and not maintainable because Mr. Vijai K. Mehrotra, Standing Counsel, over whose signature this application was filed, had no power of attorney or memo of appearance on behalf of those opposite parties. The submission is that the application under clause 14 was not maintainable and the Order of Chief Justice passed in exercise of power under clause 14 of the Amalgamation order was invalid in law. In the counter affidavit filed for opposite parties 2 and 3 it was admitted that the Standing Counsel who signed the application under clause 14 neither filed a vakalatnama nor memo of appearance on behalf of these opposite parties. The contention for the opposite parties is that the Chief Stan