ition No 159 of 1977 Under Article 32 of the Constitution AND CIVIL APPEAL No 1275 of 1975 Appeal by special leave from the Judgment and order dated 28 9 1973 of the Delhi High Court in Civil Writ No 53670
AND WRIT PETITION NOS
1211 of 1977 and 3795 of 1978 Under Article 32 of the Constitution Dr Y section Chitale P H Parekh and C B Singh for the Petitioners in WP 15977 and appellants in CA 127575
M K Ramamurthi Janardhan Sharma and Jitendra Sharma for the Petitioners in WP 121177
J M Khanna for the Petitioners in WP 379578 and RR 6 12 13 and 16 in the Appeal
U R Lalit E C Agrawala and Miss A Subhashini for R 1 in WP 15977 379578
M Mudgal for RR 12 14 and 18 in WP 15977
H B Datar and B P Singh for RR 2 5 in CA 127575 RR 27 213 Chandrachud C J 30 38 40 42 44 47 49 52 in WP 15977 and R 4 in WP 379578
C N Murthy and R Vasudevan for RR 19 21 and 24 in CA
127575 RR 42 44 118 and 150 in WP No 121177
In person R 53 in W P 15977
COUNSEL FOR THE PARTIES APPEARING PURSUANT To NOTICE O P Sharma J M Khanna A Subba Rao and B P Singh in Writ Petition No 15977
C N Murthy and R Vasudevan in WP No 121177 and RR at Sl
42 44 and 115 118 of published Notice in WP No 15977
Jitendra Sharma in W P No 121177 The Judgment of the Court was delivered by CHANDRACHUD C J
This is a group of Writ Petitions and an Appeal involving the questions mainly i whether the petitioners and the appellants recruited directly as Assistant Executive Engineers Executive Engineers Superintending Engineers and may be as Chief Engineers were appointed to regular cadres in the Ministry of Ship ping and Transport Roads Wing Government of India or whether they were appointed to ex cadre posts and ii whether they can be put into a separate class for the purpose of regulating their seniority and promotional opportunities in relation to others who were appointed to similar posts on the basis of the result of the Combined Engineering Services Examination
The petitioners and the appellants whom we will refer to as the petitioners  were appointed after a viva voce test only or to use the language of the current controversy they were appointed after being successfully interviewed by the Union Public Service Commission
The latter mode of expression helps to highlight that no examination as such was involved in their selection and appointment as in the case of those others who now figure in the array of respondents
Some of the respondents herein who were then working as Assistant Executive Engineers in the Ministry of Shipping and Transport II Roads Wing filed a Writ Petition CW 536 of 1970 in the Delhi High Court against 51 officers including the present petitioners who 214 were working either as Assistant Executive Engineers or as Executive Engineers in the same Wing
Their contention was that the appointment of these 51 officers being contrary to the recruitment rules was illegal or alternatively that they were appointed to ex cadre posts and not to the Central Engineering Service 
It was therefore claimed that none of those officers was eligible for promotion to the post of Executive Engineer until the respondents were first appointed to those posts and that the respondents were entitled to be confirmed with immediate effect ill preference to those officers immediately on the availability of permanent vacancies
A similar Writ Petition CW 537 of 1970 was filed in the Delhi High Court by three Executive Engineers who are amongst the present respondents contending that whereas their appointment after passing a competitive examination held by the UPSC was in accordance with the recruitment rules the present petitioners were appoint ed to ex cadre posts after a mere interview that such a method of recruitment was not permissible under the rules that the petitioners herein were appointed for the limited purpose of assisting in the execution of certain projects and that those who were appointed in accordance with the rules were entitled to be treated as senior to those who were not
It was for these reasons contended that Executive Engineers who were appointed by the interview method can neither be confirmed nor promoted unless and until they were brought into the cadre and appointed to the regular cadre posts
The Rules which arc alleged to have been breached by the appointment of the petitioners were made by the President under the proviso to article 309 of the Constitution
They were notified on October 16 1959 and were called the Central Engineering Service Roads of the Ministry of Transport and Communication 
Department of Transport Roads Wing Class T Recruitment Rules 1959 
The Rules evidently did not provide for appointment to the Central Engineering Service after a mere interview of a candidate by the Union Public Service Commission
But they were amended by a notification dated August 2 1966 issued by the President under the proviso to article 309 of the Constitution
By the amendment clause d was added to rule 3 as a result of which appointments could be made 3 to the Central Engineering Service by direct recruitment through the Commission in accordance with Part VI of the Rules
Part VI of the amended Rules called Direct recruitment by selection through the Commission provided that in special circumstances direct recruitment by selection of suitable candidates with such qualifications with in such age limits and satisfying such other conditions as are consi 215 dered necessary at any time in the interest of the service to the posts mentioned in Appendix IV shall be made by the Commission by open advertisement notwithstanding anything contained in the rules
Certain other consequential amendments were made to the 1959 Rules by the 1966 Amendment
The question which arose for decision of the Delhi High Court in the two writ petitions was whether the appointments of the petitioners herein who were appointed prior to August 2 1966 were illegal and if not whether they were appointed to cadre posts or ex cadre posts
on behalf of the Government of India a counter affidavit was filed in the High Court by Shri Harbans Singh Under Secretary in the Ministry of Transport Roads Wing denying that the petitioners were appointed to ex cadre posts or that they were treated by the Ministry as being outside the regular cadre of Engineering Service
Counsel for the Union of India submitted in the High Court that all posts of junior Class I Assistant Engineers Consultant as the Assistant Executive Engineers were then called created in the Ministry of Transport Roads Wing were posts in the service properly so called whether the appointments were made on a permanent basis or temporary basis
Counsel for some of the petitioners contended in the High Court that the amendment made in 1966 to the 1959 Rules was retrospective and therefore the appointments of the petitioners could be considered to have been made in accordance with the rules to the posts borne on the cadre of the Engineering Service
The Delhi High Court was faced with a problem of priorities
If it were to accept the Government of India s contention that the petitioners were appointed to cadre posts their appointments might have been required to be treated as illegal since appointments to posts borne in the cadre could not be made by the interview method under the 1959 Rules
Any finding or indication to such effect would have paved the way for a challenge to the very legality of the petitioners  appointments and eventually to their exit from the Engineering Department altogether
On the other hand accepting the respondents  contention that all of them had to be confirmed and promoted in preference to the petitioners would while legalising the petitioner s appointments virtually amount to denial of promotions to them in higher posts
By its judgment dated September 28 1973 a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court held that the Rules of 1966 had no retrospective operation
Relying upon a decision of this Court in R N Nanjundappa vs T Thimmaiah and Anr
the High Court further held 216 that in any case an illegal appointment could not be regularised by making a rule under the proviso to Article 309 of the Constitution
But in order to save the petitioners  appointments from the challenge of illegality the High Court rejected the Government s contention that they were appointed to cadre posts in the Central Engineering Service
It held that the petitioners were appointed to temporary posts without any right to become permanent for the purposes of projects like the International Development Association Loan Programme Emergency Road and Bridge Works Programme and Lateral Road Project and Strategic Roads Work
Since the temporary appointments of the petitioners were outside the service and against ex cadre posts rule 3 of the 1959 Rules was regarded as having no application and therefore the petitioners  appointments could not in any way be said to be illegal
The High Court relied upon a decision of this Court in Champaklal Chimanlal Shah vs The Union of India and held that the Government has to employ temporary servants to satisfy the needs of urgent contingencies and such appointments are perfectly legitimate
So long as such temporary servants work against ex cadre posts and are even promoted to higher ex cadre posts no member of the Service according to the High Court could have a justifiable grievance
While the writ petitions were being argued in the High Court orders expressed in the name of the President were issued on August 28 1973 by which persons appointed as Assistant Executive Engineers on the basis of interviews held by the UPSC were to be deemed to have been inducted  into the Engineering Service as Assistant Executive Engineers with effect from August 2 1966
On the same date provisional joint seniority lists were issued separately for different categories of Class I Technical Gazetted officers in the Roads Wing of The Ministry and representations from the concerned officers were invited within a period of one month
The parties requested the High Court to dispose of the writ petitions without taking into consideration the effect and legality of the Presidential order dated August 28 1973 and the provisional seniority lists circulated on that date
Accordingly the High Court did not pronounce upon the same
In CW 536 of 1970 filed by 4 Assistant Executive Engineers who were appointed by competitive examination against 4 Executive Engineers and 47 Assistant Executive Engineers who were appointed be the interview method the High Court passed the following order To summarise the position it may be stated that respondents 2 to 52 were not appointed to the Service or to 217 any posts borne on the cadre of the Service
Their appointments were to ex cadre posts and outside the Service and those appointments were valid
The orders by which respondents 2 to 6 were promoted as Executive Engineers are not liable to be quashed as it could not be shown that the promotions were made to the posts borne on the cadre of the Service or that as a result of those promotions the respondents came to be appointed to the Service
Their initial appointments 35 well as promotions have been outside the service and not to any posts borne on the cadre of the Service
There is also no question of giving any directions for not promoting any of the respondents to the posts of Executive Engineers so long as the promotions are not to posts borne on the cadre of the Service
As respondents 2 to 52 were not appointed to the Service or to any posts borne on the cadre of the Service the only relief to which the petitioners are entitled is that the Union of India shall not so long as the said respondents are not legally appointed to the Ser vice or to any posts borne on the cadre of the Service treat them as having been appointed to the Service or promote them to any posts that may be included in the cadre of the Service CW 537 of 1970 was filed by 3 Executive Engineers against 13 Executive Engineers 2 of whom were promoted as Superintending Engineers
All the three petitioners in that writ petition were appointed by competitive examination two in 1957 and one in 1958 that is to say before the making of the 1959 Rules
Respondents 2 to 11 to that writ petition were appointed by the interview method
The question whether the petitioners in that writ petition having been appointed prior to 1959 Rules could be deemed to have been appointed to the regular cadre of the Central Engineering Service was not considered by the High Court since the legality of their appointment was not in issue
While dismissing the writ petition the High Court held As respondents 2 to 11 were not appointed to the service and no posts have so far been declared to be posts borne on the cadre of the Service it follows that they are holders of ex cadre posts outside the Service
The promotion of any one of them to the higher post of Planning officer or Superintending Engineer cannot legally be objected to by the petitioners
Even if somehow the petitioners can be regarded to have been 218 appointed to the Service as was asserted on their behalf still respondents 2 to 11 having been directly selected as Executive Engineers against ex cadre posts can in their turn aspire for promotion to higher ex cadre posts 
The appointments of respondents 2 to 11 to ex cadre posts were in no way invalid
 In both the writ petitions the High Court made a significant observation to which events leading to the present proceedings may perhaps be traced that if it was desired by the Government of India that persons who were appointed against ex cadre posts should also become members of the regular Service the service shall have to be reconstituted by providing amongst other matters for the initial constitution of the Service future recruitment and determination of inter se seniority
On May 31 1974 the Government of India in the Ministry of Shipping and Transport Roads Wing issued a Memorandum saying L that in view of the judgments of the High Court in the two writ petitions the provisional inter se Seniority Lists dated August 28 1973 of all Class I Technical Gazetted officers appointed to the various grades in the Roads Wing were being withdrawn and cancelled
On the same date that is on May 31 1974 the President issued a Memorandum in each individual case cancelling the orders issued under an earlier Memorandum dated August 28 1973
By the latter Memorandum orders were issued in each individual case that officers appointed by the interview method will be deemed to have been inducted into Central Engineering Service Roads Class I Service as temporary officers in the particular grade with effect from August 2 1966 being the date on which the 1959 Rules were amended so as to provide for appointment by the interview method
The Memorandum of May 31 1974 contains a recital to the effect that it had become necessary to issue it in view of the judgment of the Delhi High Court in Writ Petition No 536 of 1970 holding that the Assistant Executive Engineers could not be treated as having been appointed to any post borne on the cadre of the Central Engineering Service
On March 1 1976 the Government of India issued a Notification saying that having regard to the judgments of the High Court in Civil Writ Petitions 536 and 537 of 1970 the Government after a most careful consideration had decided to set up 2 Services for Technical Class I officers of the Roads Wing one to be called the Central Engineering Service Roads Group A comprising of officers appointed by the method of examinationpromotion and the other to be called the 219 Central Engineering Pool Group A comprising of officers appointed by the method of interview
The recruitment Rules for the two Ser vices were published in the issue of the Gazette of India dated February 28 1976
Two Lists one showing the names of officers appoint ed to the two Services on the date of the commencement of the new Rules and the other showing the inter se seniority of the officers of the two Services were circulated to the officers concerned with a request to bring to the notice of the Government any factual errors or omissions and to submit representations if so advised against the proposed Seniority Lists within one month
We will notice the relevant rules before proceeding to consider the validity of the petitioners  contentions
On October 16 1959 the President in the exercise of powers conferred by the proviso to article 309 of the Constitution made rules called the Central Engineering Service Roads of the Ministry of Transport  Communications Department of Transport Roads Wing Class I Recruitment Rules 1959 
At the time of promulgation of these Rules Assistant Executive Engineers used to be called Assistant V Engineers Consultant and Executive Engineers as Divisional Engineers Consultant
Part II of the Rules containing rules 3 to 5 dealt with the method of recruitment to the Central Engineering Service Roads
Rule 3 provided that Recruitment to the Service shall be made by any of the following three methods a By competitive examination m accordance with Part III of the Rules b by promotion in accordance with Part IV of the Rules and c by transfer of an officer in Government service in accordance with Part V of the Rules
Rule 4 b provided that no appointment shall be made to the Service or to any post borne on the cadre of the Service by any method not specified in rule 3
By rule 4c Government was given the power to determine subject to the provisions of sub rule 3 the methods of recruitment to be employed for the purpose of filling any particular vacancy in the Service or such vacancies therein as may be required to be filled during any particular period and the number of candidates to be recruited by such method
Rule 4d provided for reservation in the ratio of 23 13 to Assistant Engineers Consultant and Assistant Engineers Grade I Class II respectively in the matter of promotion to or for selection for the post of Divisional Engineer Consultant
Rule 4d contained an important qualification to the effect that if sufficient number of suitable candidates were not available for promotion from the grade of Assistant Engineer Consultant and Assistant Engineer Grade I to the grade of Divisional Engineer Consultant the remaining vacancies in the grade of Divisional Engineer Consultant were to be filled by transfer in accordance with Part V of the Rules
220 Part III of the Rules containing rules 6 to 18 dealt with recruitment to the Service by competitive examination
Part IV containing rule 19 dealt with recruitment by promotion to the grade of Divisional Engineer Consultant Class I Sub rule 2 of rule 19 provided that if sufficient number of officers were not available to fill the quota of either of the two categories mentioned in rule 19 1 i the remaining vacancies in each category were to be filled either in accordance with Part V of the Rules or through the Commission
Part V of the Rules which dealt with recruitment by transfer of an officer in Government service provided that the Government may in special cases and after consulting the Commission where such consultation was necessary under the Union Public Service Commission Exemption from Consultation Regulations transfer or take on deputation an officer in Government service in India to a post borne on the cadre of the Service
On August 2 1966 the Rules of 1959 were amended in exercise of powers conferred by the proviso to article 309 of the Constitution
The first significant amendment made in 1966 was the addition of clause d to rule 3 of the 1959 Rules
By that clause an additional method or recruitment was provided namely By direct recruitment through the Commission in accordance with Part VI  of the Rules
Consequential amendments were made to clauses c and d of rule 4 of the 1959 Rules
By rule 4 of the Amendment Rules the concluding words or through the Commission of rule 192 of the 1959 rules were omitted
Lastly a new part Part VI was added to the 1959 Rules under the heading Direct recruitment by selection through the Commission
The newly added Part VI provided that In special circumstances direct recruitment by selection of suitable candidates with such qualifications within such age limits and satisfying such other conditions as are considered necessary at any time in the interest of the service to the posts mentioned in Appendix IV shall be made by the Commission by open advertisement notwithstanding anything contained in these rules
The Central Engineering Pool Group A  of the Ministry of Ship ping and Transport Roads Wing Rules 1976 and the Central Engineering Service Roads Group A  of the Ministry of Shipping and Transport Roads Wing Rules 1976 made under the proviso to article 309 of the Constitution were notified on February 24 1976
We will refer to the former as the Pool Rules  and to the latter as the CES Rules 
221 Turning first to the Pool Rules rule 2a defines Pool as the Central Engineering Pool Group A  constituted under rule 3
Rule  e provides that Regular continuous Service means service rendered on a continuous basis after regular appointment to a grade on the recommendations of the Departmental Promotion Committee or in consultation with the Commission as the case may be
Part II of the Pool Rules which deals with the constitution of the Central Engineering Service Group A  provides that there shall be constituted a pool to be known as the Central Engineering Pool Group A   consisting of persons appointed to the Roads Wing by the competitive selections by the method of interview through the Commission before the commencement of the Pool rules The note appended to rule 3 contains a clarification to the effect that the regular continuous service of the officers in the respective grade in the Ministry of Shipping and Transport Roads Wing prior to their appointment to the Pool will count for the purposes of qualifying service for promotion and confirmation in the Pool in the grade of Assistant Executive Engineers Executive Engineers Superintending Engineers and Chief Engineers Level I and Level II posts
By rule S the authorised strength of the various grades of posts in the pool shall be such as may be determined and notified by the Government from time to time provided that the Government may for reasons to be recorded in writing and in consultation with the Commission keep in abeyance such number of posts in such grades as are included in the table below rule 4 and operate them as isolated posts outside the Pool
Appointments to the isolated posts are to be made by selection or promotion as the case may be on the recommendation of a duly constituted Departmental Promotion Committee from an integrated list of officers working in the next lower grade in the Pool and in the Central Engineering Service Roads Group A 
The list is to be drawn up on the basis of the length of their regular continuous service in their respective grades
The qualifying service for promotion is the same as laid down in Part III
By rule 6 recruitment to the grades of Executive Engineer Superintending Engineer and Chief Engineer Level II and Level I in the Pool shall be made by promotion in accordance with Part III provided that a vacancy in these grades whenever it occurs shall first be filled by transfer of an officer of the Pool holding a corresponding post in the isolated category of posts in accordance with the proviso to rule 5
Part III of the Pool Rules deals with recruitment by promotion to the grades of Executive Engineer Superintending Engineer and Chief 222 Engineer
These promotions are required to be made on the recommendations of the Departmental Promotion Committee The CES Rules contain provisions governing appointments to the Central Engineering Service as contrasted with appointments to the posts in the Pool
By rule 3 of the CES Rules a new Service called the Central Engineering Service Roads Group A   is constituted of a persons who were holding posts in the various grades included in the Central Engineering Service Roads Class I immediately before the commencement of the 1959 Rules b persons who were appointed to the old Service on or after the date of commencement of the 1959 Rules except those who have been appointed to the Pool Service and c persons who may be appointed to the new Service after the commencement of the new Rules
Rule 3 3 contains a proviso regarding isolated posts which is similar to the proviso to rule 5 of the Pool Rules
By rule 3 4 recruitment to the Service after the initial constitution thereof has to be made either by competitive examination or by promotion or by selection or by transfer or deputation of an officer in Government service or by direct recruitment through the Commission
The proviso to this sub rule says that a vacancy in the grades of Executive Engineer Superintending Engineer and Chief Engineer Level II and Level I whenever it occurs shall first be filled by the appointment of an officer of the Service holding a corresponding post in the isolated category of posts in accordance with the proviso to sub rule 3
The validity of these rules is assailed before us in these Writ Petitions and the Appeal
The main grievance of the petitioners is that though they were appointed to their posts long before the contesting respondents they will rank much below the latter in the list of seniority and will consequently be denied promotional opportunities to the higher posts
It is contended on behalf of the petitioners that their segregation into a separate class called the Pool is totally unscientific and is in violation of the provisions of articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution
The petitioners made no grievance against the creation of the category of isolated posts  but their contention is that the classification made between the Pool officers and the Service officers is discriminatory and bears nexus with the  object to be achieved by it
If the object of the classification is to ensure higher efficiency in the Central Engineering Service it is contended that the petitioners who have rendered meritorious service for the past many years and for longer periods than The contesting respondents cannot  be put into a separate class thereby denying to them an equal opportunity for promotion to higher posts along with those junior officers who are put into the class of Service 223 Officers
Shri Chitale who led the argument on behalf of the petitioners demonstrated to us by a comparative examination of the allocation of posts made by the Government to the two categories in the exercise of the power conferred upon it by the 1976 Rules that  whereas 15 posts of Superintending Engineers are available for 19 Executive Engineers in the Service Class in so far as the Pool officers are concerned only 17 posts in the grade of Superintending Engineer have been allocated for as many as 69 Executive Engineers
Out of 15 posts of Superintending Engineers available for the Service category 13 are put in the Service class and 2 in the isolated category
Out of 17 posts of Superintending Engineers available for Pool officers 8 are put in the Pool and 9 in the isolated category
This broadly is the grievance or the petitioners
As against this Shri Lalit appearing on behalf of the Union of India contends that the judgment rendered by the Delhi High Court in the two writ petitions left no option to the Government save to classify The petitioners in a separate category
Counsel says that in spite of the contention of the Government that the petitioners were appointed to cadre posts in the regular Service the Delhi High Court held in the writ petitions that petitioners were appointed to ex cadre posts and that if their appointments were to be treated as having been made to cadre posts the appointments would be illegal being in contravention of the rules then hl force
The High Court having held that the petitioners were appointed to ex cadre posts there is a valid basis for classifying the petitioners in a separate category qua others whose appointments were made in accordance with the rules
It is denied on behalf of the Government that any substantial prejudice is likely to result to the petitioners on account of the classification made by the 1976 Rules
In fact Shri Lalit urged as one of his strongest points that granting everything in favour of the petitioners the classification did not bring about such hostile discrimination against the petitioners that this Court should take notice of it
It is argued that it is not the 1976 Rules which have created two distinct classes but such classes existed independently or the rules by reason of the fact that persons like the petitioners were appointed contrary to the rules while the contesting respondents were appointed in conformity with the rules
There is no obligation on the Government it is contended to integrate two distinct and different classes of employees in order to bring about equality between them
Shri H B Datar appearing for some of the contesting respondents supported the arguments advanced on behalf OF the Government of India and contended that since the appointments of the petitioners who 224 were appointed by the interview method were at any rate under a cloud the Government was driven to classify them separately in order to protect their tenure which was essentially precarious and insecure
The object of classifying the petitioners separately far from being to subject them to hostile discrimination is to confer upon them a status which could easily and justifiably be denied to them
The Government according to Shri Dadar has been more than fair to the petitioners firstly by condoning the illegality which had crept into their appointments and secondly by allocating to them a sufficient number of posts of promotion
No grievance could be made by the petitioners that the Government is generous but not generous enough
We are not disposed to accept Shri Chitale s contention in its entirety that any great prejudice has been occasioned to the petitioners as a result of the classification made by the 1976 Rules
Out of 4 posts of Superintending Engineers the Pool officers are occupying 27 whereas the Service officers hold 13 only
The break up is as follows
out of these 40 19 are placed in the isolated category
These lg posts and 8 posts of Superintending Engineers in the Pool are occupied by the Pool officers
There is a historic reason for this state of affairs
Recruitment on a very large scale was made by the interview method in 1962 1964 and 1965 for the execution of the International Development Association programme Emergency road and bridge works programme Lateral Road Project and Strategic Road works in Gujarat and Rajasthan
Most of the petitioners have a longer standing though not in the regular cadre and naturally they are occupying even the two posts in the isolated category which are meant for officers belonging to the regular cadre
It is also necessary to remember while assessing the strength of the petitioners  grievance of hostile discrimination that the so called Pool created by the 1976 Rules consists of stagnant water
There is going to be no fresh recruitment to the Pool posts and therefore allocations to the Pool will always be shared by a definite and predictable number of officers
On the other hand the other wing is a living and growing service to which recruitment will continue to be made in years to come
Allocations to that wing will of course have to be in pro portion to the total number of officers working therein but in the very nature of things there are budgetary constraints on the creation of additional posts
Even though this is so we are unable to accept the contention that persons holding similar posts and having similar responsibilities to discharge can be classified into different categories for the mere reason that some of them were recruited directly by the interview method and some were recruited directly on the result of a com 225 petitive examination
Were it permissible to make such classifications ingenuity may suggest the nature of curriculum in different years as the basis of classification
If subjection to different kinds of tests as a condition of eligibility produces qualitative difference in the ability of persons recruited to similar posts it may perhaps become necessary to limit the promotional opportunities in regard to the relatively higher posts to those whose abilities are remarkably higher
But it is nobody s case and the Government has made no grievance that the petitioners who were appointed by the interview method are in any way inferior in ability efficiency or educational qualifications to those who were appointed after a written competitive examination In the matter of experience too the petitioners are in no way inferior to the contesting respondents
Both the sides urged though for different reasons that at least some of the Executive Engineers can be justifiably treated differently
On behalf of the Government Shri Lalit urged that 10 out of 69 Executive Engineers from the 1962 batch were parties to the Delhi High Court judgment in Writ Petition 536 of 1970 out of which Civil Appeal 1275 of 1975 arises
The Delhi High Court having held that their appointments are to ex cadre posts no grievance it is urged can be made by them at any rate if they are treated differently
On the other hand Shri Chitale contended that the appointment of those Executive Engineers was in accordance with rule 192 of the 1959 Rules since they were appointed because no one was available from the Department for being promoted as Executive Engineer We do not want to add to the confusion in which these matters like Most of the service matters abound by putting our seal of approval on a sub classification amongst Executive Engineers depending on whether their appointments were within or without the scope of rule 192
It is in the interest of all concerned to evolve a uniform pattern which will in so far as is reasonably possible cause injustice to none
Though classification which proceeds merely on the basis that G certain persons were recruited after going through one test and certain others after going through another test would be unscientific
it cannot be said on the facts of the instant case that there can be no valid basis or justification for classifying the various officers of the Roads Wing into separate categories
As we have stated earlier the appointments of some of the petitioners and some of the respondents were made in violation of the rules which were in force at the relevant time
It is in respect of that class of person that the Delhi High 226 Court was driven to hold that they must be deemed to have been appointed to ex cadre posts
Persons for whose appointments the necessary legal sanction was wanting were liable to be put out of employment but in order to prevent any such harsh consequence the Delhi High Court came to record the finding that they must be held to have been appointed to ex cadre posts
T hat finding must be taken to have been affirmed in these proceedings with the result that no action will lie hereafter for a declaration or any similar relief asking that their appointments are illegal
But the fact remains that persons who were appointed contrary to the rules but to ex cadre posts were taken initially for purposes of certain projects to which we have already referred
Their pre carious tenure was continued from time to time but that will not furnish justification for treating them on the same footing as others whose appointments were made strictly in accordance with the rules and who were appointed to posts borne on the cadre of the Central Engineering Service
A division of these two classes of officers into separate categories will remove possible injustice to those who were appointed to cadre posts in that their promotional opportunities will not be blocked or hindered by ex cadre officers who were recruited on a large scale to meet an urgent necessity
Such a classification will also minimise the injustice which would otherwise have been caused to those who were appointed to ex cadre posts
Taking all relevant aspects of the matter into consideration we propose to pass the following order which it must be stated was discussed by us quite at some length with all the learned counsel appearing in the case
In fairness to them we must say that the order which we propose to pass does not proceed from their consent though they have helped to shape it
1 All persons appointed in accordance with any of the modes of appointment prescribed by rule 3 or rule 192 of the 1959 Rules must be taken to have been appointed to the regular cadre of the Central Engineering Service
It will not be permissible to classify them separately as pool  officers or other wise
2 Those whose appointments are not in accordance with any of the modes of appointment prescribed by rule 3 or rule 192 of the 1959 Rules shall be taken to have been appointed to ex cadre 227 posts
Such persons may be classified into a separate category from those referred to in clause 1 above 3 The Central Government will scrutinise the cases of all persons involved in the present proceedings who have been placed in the pool 
The Government shall upon such scrutiny decide whether the appointment in each particular case was made in conformity with rule 3 or rule 192 of the 1959 Rules
All persons concerned may if they so desire submit their representations to the authorities concerned before 1st October 1979
On consideration of the representations and upon examination of the relevant material the Central Government shall make a declaration before 1st January 1980 whether any and which appointment was in accordance with rule 3 or rule 192 of the 1959 Rules and which was against the same
The classification of the officers concerned under clauses 1 and 2 above will depend upon and be governed by the declaration to be made by the Government
4 Cases of all persons who according to the declaration to be made by the Government are wrongly placed in the pool  shall be reviewed by the Government or by the appropriate authority as the case may be
However all promotions made prior to 31 5 1974 will remain undisturbed
Promotions made after that date shall be reviewed by the appropriate authority as expeditiously as possible in the light of the declarations made by the Government so as to give to such officers the promotions which are due to them
This order takes note of the grievance of those persons also who have been placed in the pool  but who contend that they have been wrongly included therein since their appointments were in accordance with the 1959 Rules as they stood at the time of their recruitment
The Writ Petitions and the Appeal shall stand disposed of in terms of this order
There will be no order as to costs


Summary:
The Central Engineering Service Roads of the Ministry of Transport and Communications Department of Transport Roads Wing Class I Recruitment Rules 1959 provided that recruitment to the service shall be made by competitive examination by promotion and by transfer as provided for in Parts III IV V of the Rules
The Rules provided that no appointment shall be made to the service or to any post borne on the cadre of the service by any method not specified in Rule 3
The Rules empowered the Government to determine the methods of recruitment for filling any particular vacancy in the service
An amendment introduced on August 2 1966 to Rule 3 of the 1959 Rules provided an additional method of recruitment viz direct recruitment through the UPSC in accordance with Part VI of the Rules
This Part provided that in special circumstances recruitment by selection of candidates to the posts mentioned in Appendix IV shall be made by the Commission by open advertisement notwithstanding anything contained in the Rules
Right from the inception selection of officers for Class I posts was made by an examination conducted by the UPSC
After the introduction of r 3d in the 1959 Rules in August 1966 951 persons were recruited by the UPSC by way of interviews without written examination
Some of the respondents who were officers selected by written examination impugned the appointment of the 51 officers including the petitioners who were working as Assistant Executive Engineers or Executive Engineers in the same wing on the ground that the appointment of these 51 officers was contrary to the Recruitment Rules in that they were appointed in contravention of the 1959 Rules or in the alternative they contended that they should be treated to have been appointed to ex cadre posts and for this reason they were not eligible for promotion to the posts of Executive Engineers until the respondents were first appointed to those posts
Lastly the respondents contended that they were entitled to be confirmed in preference to the petitioners
A similar writ petition was filed by three Executive Engineers among the present respondents alleging that their recruitment by the method of examination was in accordance with the Recruitment Rules but that the petitioners were appointed by 210 mere interviews a method not permissible under the Rules and therefore those who were appointed by interview method could neither be confirmed nor promoted unless they were brought into the cadre and appointed to the regular cadre posts
The High Court held that the Rules of 1966 had no retrospective operation and that therefore an appointment made in contravention of the rules could not he regularised by making a rule under the proviso to article 309
It also held that the petitioners were appointed to temporary posts without any right to become permanent but since the temporary appointments were outside the service and against ex cadre posts Rule 3 of he 1959 Rules had no application and for that reason their appointments could not be said to be illegal
While the writ petitions were being argued orders were issued on August 28 1973 by which persons who were appointed as Assistant Executive Engineers by way of interview were deemed to have been inducted into the Engineering Service as Assistant Executive Engineers with retrospective effect from August 2 1966 ie the date of induction of r 3d into the 1959 Rules
Provisional seniority list was separately made for the different categories of officers
This order of August 28 1973 was not however questioned before the High Court
In view of the decision of the High Court the Government withdrew and cancelled the provisional inter se seniority list dated August 28 1973 and at the same time it issued a Notification to the effect that the officers appointed by the interview method would be deemed to have been inducted into the Central Engineering Service Roads Class T Service as temporary officers in the grade with effect from August 2 1966
On March 1 1976 the Government issued a notification stating that it had decided to set up two services called the Central Engineering Service Roads Group A  comprising of officers appointed by the method of examination promotion and the other Central Engineering Pool Group A  comprising of officers appointed by the method of interview
Rules in respect of both the services were published and the inter se seniority list of officers of the two services were circulated to the concerned officers
The Central Engineering Service Rules constituted a new service called the Central Engineering Service Roads Group A  consisting of a persons who were holding posts in the various grades included in the Central Engineering Service Roads Class I immediately before the commencement of the 1959 Rules b persons who were appointed to the old service on or after the date of commencement of the 1959 Rules except those who have been appointed to the Pool Service and c persons who may be appointed to the new service after the commencement of the new Rules The Central Engineering Pool Group A  consisted of persons appointed to the Roads Wing by competitive examination by the method of interview through the UPSC before the commencement of the Pool Rules
A note appended to r 3 contained a clarification that the regular tenure service cf the officers in the respective grade prior to their appointment to the Pool would count for the purposes of qualifying service for promotion and confirmation in the Pool in the different grades
Rule 5 authorised Government to 211 keep in abeyance certain posts and operate them as Isolated Posts outside the Pool
Promotions to higher posts in Pool were to be made on the recommendations of the Departmental Promotion Committee
In their writ petitions the petitioners contended that though they were appointed to the posts long before the respondents they were ranked much below the latter in the list of seniority and that consequently they would be denied promotional opportunities to the higher posts that their segregation into a separate class called the Pool is totally unscientific and was in violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution and that the classification made between the Pool officers and Service officers is discriminatory and bore no nexus with the object sought to be achieved by it  HELD 1
Out of 40 posts of Superintending Engineers the Pool officers were occupying 27 posts whereas Service officers held only 13 posts
There is a historical reason for this state of affairs
Recruitment on a very large scale was made by the interview method in 1962 1964 and 1965 fol
execution of certain urgent works
Most of the petitioners had a longer standing though not in a regular cadre and naturally they were occupying even the two posts in the isolated category which were meant for officers belonging to the regular cadre
224D E 2
The so called Pool created by the 1976 Rules consisted of stagnant water
There is to be no fresh recruitment to the Pool poss and
therefore allocations to the Pool would always be shared by I definite and predictable number of officers
On the other hand the other wing was a living and growing service to which recruitment continued to be made in subsequent years
Allocations to that wing would have to be in proportion to the total number of officers working therein but in the very nature of things there were budgetary constraints on the creation of additional posts
1224 F G 3
It cannot be said that persons holding similar posts and having similar responsibilities to discharge could be classified into different categories for the mere reason that some of them were recruited directly by the interview method and some were recruited directly on the result of a competitive examination
Were it permissible to make such classification ingenuity may suggest the nature of curriculum in different years as the basis of classification
If subjection tc different kinds of tests as a condition of eligibility produces qualitative difference in the ability of persons recruited to similar posts it may perhaps become necessary to limit the promotional opportunities in regard to the relatively higher posts to those whose abilities are remarkably higher
The Government had made no grievance that the petitioners who were appointed by the interview method were in any way inferior in ability efficiency or educational qualifications to those who were appointed after a written competitive examination
In the matter of experience too the petitioners were in no way inferior to the respondents
224H 225C 4
Though classification which proceeds merely on the basis that certain persons were recruited after going through one test and certain others after going through another test would be unscientific it cannot be said on the facts of the case that there could be no valid basis or justification for classifying the various officers of the Roads Wing into separate categories
The appointments 212 of some of the petitioners and some of the respondents were made in violation of the Rules which were in force at the relevant time
It is in respect of that class of persons that the High Court held that they must be deemed to have been appointed to ex cadre posts
Persons for whose appointments the necessary legal sanction was wanting were liable to be put out of employment but in order to prevent any such harsh consequence the High Court came to record the finding that the must be held to have been appointed to ex cadre post
That finding must be taken to have been affirmed in these proceedings with the result that no action would lie hereafter for a declaration or any similar relief asking that their appointments were illegal
225G 226B 5
The fact remains that persons who were appointed contrary to the Rules but to ex cadre posts were taken initially for purposes of certain projects
Their precarious tenure was continued from time to time but that would not furnish justification for treating them on the same footing as others whose appointments were made strictly in accordance with Rules and who were appointed to posts borne on the cadre of the Central Engineering Service
A division of these two classes of officers into separate categories would remove possible injustice to those who were appointed to cadre posts in that their promotional opportunities would not be blocked or hindered by ex cadre officers who were recruited on a large scale to meet an urgent necessity
Such a classification would also minimise the injustice which would otherwise have been caused to those who were appointed to ex cadre posts
226 C E