JUDGMENT

KASLIWAL, J.:—Special leave granted.

2. We are confronted in these appeals with the question as to what percentage of marks awarded for group discussion and interview for selection of Assistant Engineers by the U.P. State Electricity Board is reasonable.

3. The U. P. State Electricity Board invited applications for filling up the posts of Assistant Engineers (Civil) by issuing an advertisement in April, 1989. 120 marks were allocated for the written test, 40 marks for interview and 40 marks for group discussion. Written test was conducted by the Board on 9th July, 1989 and then interviews and group discussion were held in October and November, 1989. The result of the successful candidates in order of merit was published in daily newspaper on 27th November, 1989. The very next day the Board also issued individual letters to the successful candidates calling upon them to join on 28th December, 1989 at Electricity Training Institute, Sarojini Nagar, Lucknow. The appellants before us joined the institute in December, 1989 and thereafter they were sent to various places for training and they started drawing salaries in the prescribed pay-scale and since then they are continuously