However, when the fresh vacancies were declared and the Respondents were to be appointed on the same principle and practice, they were denied the benefit of the same citing the Rules of 1980 read with Rules of 2002, as amended by the Rules of 2003.
The said order of the learned Single Judge was challenged by the Respondents herein in several writ appeals before the Division Bench of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court.
The aforesaid companytroversy was triggered by an advertisement dated 12th November, 2007, whereby 766 vacancies were advertised for being filled up by diploma holders.
A further prayer was made in one of the writ petitions Writ Petition No.7771 SS of 2007 to declare Rule 5 2 iv b of the amended Rules as ultra vires.
After a detailed companysideration of the rules and the existing procedures, the amended Rules were held to be intra vires.
The advertisement provided that the recruitment would be made in accordance with the U.P. Procedure for Direct Recruitment of Group C Posts Outside the Purview of Public Service Commission Rules, 2000, as amended by the U.P. Procedure for Direct Recruitment of Group C Posts Outside the Purview of Public Service Commission First Amendment Rules, 2003, and the relevant Service Rules in force with regard to educational qualifications and other companyditions of service.
As a result, those diploma holders, who had obtained diploma before the Respondents, were adjusted against the vacancies first, irrespective of their merit vis vis the diploma holders of subsequent batches and the said practice was companytinued till 2002.
According to the Respondents, on an interpretation of Rule 15 2 of the 1980 Rules by the State Government, they were entitled to be selected and appointed first on the vacancies advertised, as they belonged to previous batches and were denied appointment by the State Government earlier on the plea that numberwithstanding their merit being superior to those of some of the diploma holders, who had obtained diploma prior in point of time, the latter candidates were to be given appointment first.
